Tag Archives: Johnny Oduya

Racist taunts toward Smith-Pelly by ‘fans’ ignores the history of their favorite team

18 Sunday Feb 2018

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GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA I just want to drop a few names on the Chicago Blackhawks “fans” who had their butts not-so-surgically removed from their United Center seats Saturday for allegedly hurling racist taunts at Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly.

Dirk Graham, Johnny Oduya, Dustin Byfuglien, Ray Emery, Jamal Mayers, and Trevor Daley.

These are black players or players of African descent who skated for the team that you root for – or rooted for before Blackhawks management ejected you from fairly high-priced seats for supposedly directing racial remarks toward Smith-Pelly.

Black players helped make the Blackhawks winners and hoist Stanley Cups.

Oduya was a mainstay on defense on the ‘Hawks 2012-13 and 2014-15 championship teams. Emery was the solid backup goaltender for the 2012-13 Cup winner. Mayers, a forward, added defensive toughness to that team for 19 regular season games that season.

And Byfuglien was a disruptive power forward that the Philadelphia Flyers struggled to control in the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Final.

Former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery.

Graham was a gritty heat-and-soul captain of a Blackhawks teams that were competitive. He even scored a hat trick in Game 4 in the 1992 Stanley Cup Final won by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

These are all men of color who played for your team. For. Your. Team.

Imagine if Oduya, Byfuglien, and Emery adhered to the taunts aimed at Smith-Pelly and they played for, say, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks instead of the NHL’s Blackhawks?

The idea that you could be shocked and appalled in this day and age at the sight of a black guy being on the ice or in the penalty box at a hockey game means you either don’t know your own team or that Smith-Pelly’s skin simply got under yours.

Either way, it wasn’t a good look. I wonder what recently-acquired Blackhawks forward Anthony Duclair must be thinking after watching those home “fans” giving an opposing minority player the business by using race as a weapon.

Former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya.

Kudos to the management of the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals and National Hockey League for taking swift action on this ugly incident.

Captials Head Coach Barry Trotz was right when he said “There is absolutely no place in the game of hockey or our country for racism.”

“It just shows ignorance,” he added.

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Johnny Oduya and the Stanley Cup – together again in Stockholm

20 Thursday Aug 2015

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It was a relatively low-key affair in 2013 with then-Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya and a handful of buddies dressed to the nines for a formal sit-down gathering with the Stanley Cup in an ornate wood-paneled room in Stockholm.

Oduya, now a member of the Dallas Stars, and Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger brought the Cup back to their native Sweden earlier this week, but this time Stanley was out and about for almost all to see.

Johnny Oduya, right, and former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Marcus Kruger with the Cup at Friends Arena (Photo/Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame).

Johnny Oduya, right, and former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Marcus Kruger with the Cup at Friends Arena (Photo/Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame).

“I felt last time the privacy was more important,” Oduya told ESPN.com’s Scott Powers in an excellent piece on the Cup’s day and night in Stockholm. “You want to do your things, kind of. Whereas this time, I think we both feel that we can combine some things and make it a bigger thing for friends and family.”

Phil Pritchard, the globe-trotting white-gloved keeper of the Stanley Cup, took some photos of the Stockholm visit. Oduya’s moments with the Cup close his Blackhawks career. In June, Oduya signed a two-year contract with the Stars that will reportedly pay him $3.75 million annually.

Oduya, left, and Marcus Kruger visit Stockholm's Children's Hospital with the Stanley Cup (Photo/Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame).

Oduya, left, and Marcus Kruger visit Stockholm’s Children’s Hospital with the Stanley Cup (Photo/Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame).

“I see this as kind of an ending to what’s before,” Oduya told Powers. “From this day, I can kind of move forward. Of course, you get mixed emotions at some point. I could have had this day in June and it wouldn’t have been a problem. I see it as the final or whatever you say of what was, and this day forward you can move on.”

Diversity in the stands: African-American NHL fans on the rise

12 Friday Jun 2015

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For those needing proof that minority interest in hockey is on the rise, look no further than this great story by the Chicago Tribune’s Shannon Ryan about the growth of African-American National Hockey League fans. There’s a neat Color of Hockey shout-out, too. Thanks, Shannon!

Coaches of color help power Tampa Bay Lightning’s charge to Stanley Cup Final

31 Sunday May 2015

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When the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks face off Wednesday in the Stanley Cup Final opener, hockey fans will see two players of color who’ve been indispensable to their teams.

Right wing J.T. Brown has been a key role player for the Lightning ever since he was promoted from the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch in 2013-14 after All-Star forward Steven Stamkos suffered an injury. The Blackhawks’ Johnny Oduya is vying for his second Stanley Cup and has grown into one of Chicago’s top defensemen.

What fans watching the final probably won’t see are two coaches of color who’ve been vital behind the scenes to the Lightning’s quest for the Cup.

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie coach Frantz Jean.

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie coach Frantz Jean.

Frantz Jean is the Lightning goalie coach who puts starting netminder Ben Bishop and backup Andrei Vasilevskiy through their paces in practice and strives to  keep them on an even keel during the emotional rollercoaster that is the playoffs.

Bishop out-dueled Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, a league Most Valuable Player candidate, and New York Rangers all-world netminder Henrik Lundqvist  in the playoffs to earn the right to face Chicago sharpshooters Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad in the final round.

“From our perspective, Ben’s doing nothing different,” Jean told The Tampa Tribune earlier in May. “Except now he’s on a bigger stage.”

Bishop heads into the Stanley Cup Final with a 12-8 playoff record, 2.15 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. During the 2014-15 regular season, Bishop won 40 games, fourth-best among NHL goalies, and lost only 13 contests. His 2.32 goals-against average was 15th best in the league.

Jean has presided over the Lightning organization’s goaltending since 2010. Under his tutelage, Tampa Bay goaltending prospects playing for the AHL Norfolk Admirals and ECHL Florida Everblades vied for league championships in 2012.

Then-Lightning property Dustin Tokarski – now with the Montreal Canadiens – finished the 2012 AHL playoffs with the best save percentage and goal-against average and led the league with 32 wins in the 2011-12 regular season.

Jean joined the Lightning organization after coaching for 12 years with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His Moncton netminders allowed the fewest goals in the league in the 1999-00, 2005-06, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

A Montreal native, Jean coached goalies on Hockey Canada’s Under-18 teams that won Gold Medals at Ivan Hlinka Memorial International Tournaments in 2009 and 2010.

In the six degrees of separation of the hockey world, Jean can take some credit if the Blackhawks defeat his Lightning for the Stanley Cup. He coached Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford at Moncton.

“I’ve seen him grow from a teen to a man,” Jean told CSN Chicago recently. “When I see the work he had to go into the minors, to pay his dues and learn to be a consistent goaltender and then to be able to duplicate that in the pros, I’m very proud of him.”

Crawford is apparently still fond of his old coach. “A great coach, an awesome guy,” he told The Tampa Times in 2013. “He was great technique-wise, and for my mental game, taking care of myself and learning that aspect, too, getting rest at the right time. He definitely helped me moving on to pro hockey.”

Lightning video coach Nigel Kirwan.

Lightning video coach Nigel Kirwan.

Jean is a newcomer to the Lightning when compared to video coach Nigel Kirwan. He’s been with the ‘Bolts since the team’s inaugural season in 1992. He worked in the Lightning’s ticket sales office before then-Head Coach Terry Crisp made him a video coach in the 1996-97 season.

Initially, he thought Crisp’s job offer was a joke.

“I basically told him to go fly a kite,” Kirwan told TampaBayLightning.com in 2012. “Crispy was a prankster and loved to rile the office up so my immediate reaction was that he was trying to get me going. I also had a report due to my boss that was already late so I told him to just get out of my office.”

But Crisp, now a studio analyst for the Nashville Predators, pressed Kirwan  because “I saw something in him,” he told TampaBayLightning.com. “He knew the game, he loved the game, and his personality fit right in with our staff. He fit right in like a hand in a glove,” Crisp added.

Now Kirwan serves as a keen set of eyes for Tampa Bay’s coaching staff and players. He breaks down pre-scout and game film and helps formulate scouting reports on opposing players.  He  performed the same tasks for Team USA at the 2008 and 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Winnipeg, Kirwan hoisted the Stanley Cup when the Lightning won it in 2004. Only the Blackhawks stand in the way of him doing it again.

Oduya day with the Cup

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

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The Stanley Cup Summer Victory Tour landed in Stockholm, Sweden recently, where Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya,  center Marcus Kruger and left wing Viktor Stalberg  (now with the Nashville Predators) showed off the oldest trophy competed for in North America to family, friends, and fellow countrymen of the hockey-crazed nation.

Johnny Oduya, Viktor Stalberg and Marcus Kruger pose with their hard-earned prize in Stockholm. (Photo via Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame.)

Johnny Oduya, Viktor Stalberg and Marcus Kruger pose with their hard-earned prize in Stockholm. (Photo via Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame.)

Rather than follow in the footsteps of other players who’ve water-skied with the Cup or allowed their pets or children to eat out of the iconic trophy, Oduya had it as the guest of honor at a dignified, formal sit-down affair with a group of life-long friends and hockey buddies.

Chicago Blackhawks' Johnny Oduya and friends got gussied up for their moment with the Stanley Cup in Sweden. (Photo via Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame.)

Chicago Blackhawks’ Johnny Oduya and friends got gussied up for their moment with the Stanley Cup in Sweden. (Photo via Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame.)

Oduya shares a bus ride with Lord Stanley in Sweden. (Phil Pritchard, HHOF).

Oduya shares a bus ride with Lord Stanley in Sweden. (Phil Pritchard, HHOF).

Kruger, meanwhile, had a party with the Cup at The Soap Bar in Stockholm and Oduya stopped by for the festivities. Stalberg, a free agent signed by the Predators, took Lord Stanley on a first-ever visit to Gothenburg, Sweden.

Oduya was traded to the Blackhawks from the Winnipeg Jets during the 2011-12 season for a second and a third round pick in the 2013 NHL draft.

The trade paid dividends for Chicago last season as Oduya registered six goals and 14 assists and was a steady plus-12 in 48 regular season games. He notched 3 goals and five assists and was a plus-12 in 23 playoff games.

He scored a goal in the third period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins that sent the match to overtime. The Blackhawks eventually won that game 4-3 in a triple-overtime thriller.