Tag Archives: Ryan Reaves

Pictures tell hockey’s diversity story in Stanley Cup Final Game One

30 Wednesday May 2018

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The Stanley Cup Final is only a game old but I already have a favorite picture – one that jubilantly tells the story of diversity in hockey.

It’s a shot of Vegas Golden Knights forwards Ryan Reaves and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare joyfully celebrating the top-shelf goal that Reaves scored in the third period Monday night against the Washington Capitals that tied the game at 4. Vegas won the series opener 6-4, a contest in which players of color had front and center roles.

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Reaves and Bellemare were effective pests on the Golden Knights checking line, giving the Capitals fits and putting the puck in the net.

Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, who is Ojibwe First Nations/Native American, had an assist on the Capitals’ fourth goal, scored by defenseman John Carlson. And Washington forward Devante-Smith Pelly made the most of his 10:04 minutes of ice time, hitting anything that moved that wore gray, gold and red.

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The Stanley Cup Final isn’t the only thing with neat visuals. Voting is underway for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, with three finalists to choose from.

And, like any good campaign, supporters of Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club founder and Head Coach Neal Henderson, have put up a video to garner votes.

At 40 years old, Washington’s Fort Dupont program is the oldest minority youth hockey program in North America.

The other O’Ree award finalists are Debbie Bland, a long-time girls and women’s hockey advocate in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, and Humboldt Broncos Coach Darcy Haugan, who was killed in April when the Saskatchewan junior hockey team’s bus collided with a semi-trailer.

Voting closes at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on June 1. Click here to cast your vote.

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Heroics by Reaves and Bellemare propel Golden Knights to Stanley Cup Final

20 Sunday May 2018

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Pierre Edouard-Bellemare, Ryan Reaves and Malcolm Subban are cashing in on the chips of fate that took them to Las Vegas.

The three black players are members of the Vegas Golden Knights, the first-year National Hockey League team that’s made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Forward Ryan Reaves thought he’d be helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup. He got traded to Vegas instead.

Forwards Reaves and Bellemare played pivotal roles Sunday in the Golden Knights’ series-clinching 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets that put them to the Stanley Cup Final.

Reaves, a Winnipeg native and son of a former Canadian Football League star, scored the game-winning goal, a second-period tip in shot. The man who proclaimed himself the strongest player in the NHL showed soft hands on the goal.

The Golden Knights dispatched the Jets in five games and now await the winner of the Washington Capitals-Tampa Bay Lightning Eastern Conference Final.

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Bellemare, a native of Le Blanc-Mesnil, France, didn’t register a point Sunday. But he made his presence felt by centering a fourth line – that included Reaves – pressured and frustrated Winnipeg’s offensive players.

The playoff contributions by Reaves, Bellemare and regular season heroics by Subban are notable because they, like most of the players on the Golden Knights’ roster, are cast-offs – dispatched to the desert by other NHL teams.

Bellemare and Subban probably didn’t envision playing for hockey’s Holy Grail when the 2017-18 season began in October. Reaves thought he’d be competing for the Cup on a different team.

They each took a different path to Vegas.

Bellemare’s was more direct. He’s an original Golden Knight, chosen in last June’s expansion draft – a smorgasbord of  hand-me-down players served up by the NHL’s 30 other teams. He was plucked from the Philadelphia Flyers.

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He quickly established himself as a key part of Golden Knights, earning the assistant captain’s “A” for his jersey.  He tallied 6 goals and 10 assists in 72 regular season games in 2017-18.

Bellemare has no goals and 1 assist in 15 playoff contests. But the beauty of Bellemare is what he does defensively, making the opposition work for offensive opportunities. He also is a top-notch penalty killer.

Subban wasn’t even on the Golden Knights roster – or even in the NHL -when the 2017-18 season started.

Placed on waivers by the Boston Bruins, goalie Malcolm Subban found a home in Vegas.

The younger brother of Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban, was tending goal in the minor leagues for the Providence Bruins, the American Hockey League farm team of the Boston Bruins.

Boston, frustrated by Subban’s progress after selecting him in the first round of 2012 NHL draft, placed him on waivers in October 2017. The Golden Knights quickly claimed the athletic, acrobatic goaltender.

Subban played a pivotal role in Vegas’ improbable season, filling in for an injured Marc-Andre Fleury. He earned his first NHL victory against the Bruins, the team that dispatched him. In December, Subban had a 41-save, 4-3 win against Nashville and big brother P.K.

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He finished the regular season with 13-4-2 record in 22 games with a 2.68 goals-against average.

Reaves expected to be chasing the Stanley Cup – for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Reaves, one of the NHL’s most-feared tough guys, was acquired by the Eastern Conference Penguins from the Western Conference St. Louis Blues before the 2017-18 season began.

His mission was to add muscle and on-ice protection for high-scoring forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. But the Pens shipped Reaves back west to Vegas in February for a 2018 fourth-round draft pick.

“Out West, every team seems to have a little bit of physicality to them. I like playing that game,” Reaves told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in February. “I like to play a little heavier.”

He relished the role of the heavy against his hometown Jets. Reaves proclaimed himself the strongest player in the NHL, a title usually associated with Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg’s physically-imposing, offensively-talented defenseman.

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Reaves appeared in 58 regular season games for the Penguins and 21 contests for the Golden Knights. He had 4 goals, 6 assists and 94 penalty minutes between the two teams. His game-winning goal Sunday was his first point in six  playoff games.

Should the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup, Bellemare would be the latest black player to have his name engraved on trophy.

His name would join those of goaltenders Grant Fuhr (Edmonton Oilers – 1984, 1985, 1987, 1998, 1990), Eldon “Pokey” Riddick (Oilers – 1990) and Ray Emery (Chicago Blackhawks – 2013), forwards Dustin Byfuglien (Blackhawks -2013) and  Jamal Mayers (Blackhawks-2013), and defensemen Johnny Oduya (Blackhawks-2013, 2015) and Trevor Daley (Penguins – 2016, 2017).

Reaves and Subban are currently ineligible to have their names engraved.  NHL rules state that a player has to appear in at least 41 games with the team playing for the Cup or appear in at least one Stanley Cup Final contest.

Given his game-winning heroics Sunday, Reaves will likely be in the Vegas lineup in the Final against Washington or Tampa Bay.

Subban is a different matter. He didn’t play a minute in the playoffs. He’s not likely to see action in the Final unless Fleury – a leading contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the league’s most valuable post-season player – is injured or is replaced because of a poor performance.

If Subban doesn’t play in the Final, the Golden Knights could petition the league to have his name added to the Cup.

The Blackhawks successfully petitioned to have Mayers name engraved after he appeared in only 19 regular season games and no playoff contests during the team’s 2012-13 Cup-winning season.

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Momentum builds for Willie O’Ree Hockey Hall of Fame induction as deadlines loom

01 Thursday Mar 2018

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For those who want to see Willie O’Ree in the Hockey Hall of  Fame, it’s time to put our money where our mouths are.

The Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee – the gatekeepers who decide who’s in and who’s not – is ramping up its decision-making process for the Hall Class of 2018.

Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

Selection Committee members have until April 15 to submit names of who they think are Hall-worthy. Those nominees are debated and voted on during an Elections Meeting in June. The annual Hall induction takes place in November.

While the Selection Committee has the most say in this process, there is an outlet for public input.

Its called the public submissions and it allows people to submit who they think are worthy of Hall entry in the Player, Referee/Linesman and Builder categories.

The deadline for public submissions is March 15, so time is of the essence. Here is a link to how the process works and how you can make a submission.

It doesn’t guarantee that O’Ree will be nominated, but it lets Selection Committee members know that there’s heavy of support to let the National Hockey League’s first black player into the the hockey shrine.

From hockey fans to players to hockey analysts, there are plenty of folks out there who want to see O’Ree in the Hall of Fame in the Builder’s category.

Change.org has a petition calling for O’Ree’s Hall induction for his “significant contributions to the game as a pioneer of the sport.”

Thirteen members city government of Fredericton, New Brunswick – O’Ree’s home town in Canada – sent a letter to the Hockey Hall of Fame urging O’Ree’s induction. Fredericton Member of Parliament Matt DeCourcey added his voice with a floor speech last month in the House of Commons.

“A member of the New Brunswick Hall of Fame (and ) the Order of Canada, there remains but one honor to be bestowed this person who left such an indelible mark on this sport,” DeCourcey said.  “Mr. Speaker, for his dedication as a builder, I am sure Frederictonians, New Brunswickers, Canadians and hockey fans around the world share the view that it is past time that Willie O’Ree be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.”

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Karl Subban – the father of Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban, and Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Jordan Subban – is sending a submission letter through an O’Ree Hall induction effort launched by Fredericton residents.

“He changed the game and he changed society and he changed minds,” Karl Subban wrote. “He changed hockey, which is now for everyone. Hockey needed him and so does the Hockey Hall of Fame. The time is right.”

Damon Kwame Mason, director of the award-winning “Soul on Ice: Past, Present & Future” black hockey history documentary, is also pushing for O’Ree’s induction.

So are several major hockey writers and analysts.

The criteria for entry in the Hall of Fame as a Builder is “Coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.”

O’Ree fits this category because he has helped change the face of the game, not just by for becoming the first black man to play in the NHL when he took to the old Montreal Forum ice on Jan. 18, 1958 as a forward for the Boston Bruins – but he’s done since.

He has been an inspiration to a generation of young hockey players and fans of color. They look at this still-fit 82-year-old man, learn about the racial abuse he suffered in order to make it to the pros, and how he played in the NHL and minor leagues despite being blind in his right eye, and say “if he can do it, so can I.”

O’Ree has worked tirelessly as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1998, crisscrossing the United States and Canada to visit youth hockey programs affiliated with the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

His impact goes beyond getting more kids of color to lace on skates and grab sticks. O’Ree has also been a father figure, sounding board and role model for many of the minority players in the NHL today.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds recently said “Willie is not only a hero to me in hockey, but a hero in life.”

Pittsburgh Penguins tough guy forward Ryan Reaves vowed to have a big game  in honor of O’Ree, who was in the house last month for the Pens-Kings game at PPG Paints Arena.

Not known as a scorer, Reaves had a goal that night.

“Obviously with Willie O’Ree in the house it was pretty special,” Reaves told reporters. “He was a pioneer for players like me and it was nice to get him one.”

Reaves added: “That is somebody you look up to. He was big in the NHL, big in all sports for players like me.”

This years marks the 60th anniversary of Willie O’Ree making hockey history. Will the Hockey Hall of Fame make history this year and let Willie O’Ree in?

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

St. Louis Blues’ Ryan Reaves has a present for the tooth fairy

06 Monday Apr 2015

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Who needs dental school? Apparently not St. Louis Blues right wing Ryan Reaves.

After taking a bone-rattling check Sunday in the Blues’ 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, the rugged forward returned to the St. Louis bench and performed oral surgery – calmly yanking a loose tooth bare-handed. No Novocaine, no pliers, no missed shift, no problem.

But did he put it under his pillow after the game?

To better understand what makes Reaves tick, give this great ESPN.com story a read.

Vancouver Sun runs a less than sunny caption with photo of Jordan Subban

24 Wednesday Sep 2014

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The publication is named The Vancouver Sun but the caption with the photo was hardly enlightening.

Defenseman Jordan Subban, the Vancouver Canucks’ fourth-round draft pick in 2013, scored his first-ever NHL goal in Tuesday night’s preseason game against the San Jose Sharks. After scoring the goal, a happy Subban celebrated with his teammates, a moment captured in a photograph published in The Sun’s online edition.

The picture was fine. The caption that accompanied it, not so much. It said: Vancouver Canucks celebrate goal by Jordan Subban (dark guy in the middle) against San Jose Sharks in NHL pre-season game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. on September 23, 2014.

https://twitter.com/CBCCanada/status/514790859985137664/photo/1

“Dark guy in the middle.” Really? Glad the cutline cleared up that confusion.

Jordan Subban

Jordan Subban

To add some bones to the caption’s obsession with Subban’s flesh: Jordan Subban was the 115th player selected in the 2013 draft. He’s the youngest brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban and Boston Bruins goaltending prospect Malcolm Subban.

Jordan was a top defenseman last season for the Bellville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. The diminutive 19-year-old notched 12 goals and 30 assists for the Bulls in 65 games. Big brother P.K., who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman in 2013, on several occasions has said Jordan is a cerebral blue-liner who can teach him a thing or two about playing defense.

The Sun and Vancouver’s Province newspaper apologized for the insensitive caption, but it’s still the latest racially clumsy episode before the first puck drops on the NHL’s 2014-15 season. First EA Sports inexplicably depicts St. Louis Blues tough guy Ryan Reaves about 15 shades too dark in its NHL video game, now the crazy Subban caption.

Subban took the episode in stride.

“I heard about that,” he told The Province Wednesday. “I had a chance to talk to a representative from the paper and it seemed like a pretty honest mistake. Am I worried about it? No. If people should be talking about something, it should be the way I played last night rather than that. Hopefully, it will just die down.

“It was just unfortunate. I don’t think there were any bad intentions. It is what it is and I’ve moved on and I’m sure everyone else will, too.”

Subban is on his way back to Bellville. The Canucks cut him and three other players and shipped them back to their major junior hockey teams.

 

When darkness fails – EA Sports fades St. Louis Blues’ Ryan Reaves too black in game

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

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Ryan Reaves

Ryan Reaves

As an on-ice enforcer who tangles with some of the National Hockey League’s best fighters, St. Louis Blues forward Ryan Reaves is used to being a little black and blue after a tough game.

But one can excuse Reaves for being red hot miffed at EA Sports  for digitally making him waaaayyy too black in its NHL video game.

The real Ryan Reaves, left, and EA Sports' digital version of the rugged right wing.

The real Ryan Reaves, left, and EA Sports’ digital version of the rugged right wing.

Adventures – or misadventures – in pigmentation aren’t unusual in the media world. Time Magazine faced an avalanche of criticism when it darkened the facial features of then-murder suspect O.J. Simpson on its June 27, 1994 cover.

And Lifetime’s made-for-TV biopic about the late R&B singer/dancer Aaliyah has been slogging through controversy from the moment its producers initially cast an actress who many Aaliyah fans deemed too light-skinned to play the lead role.

However, the ghosts of colorations past probably mean little to Reaves, who’s dealing with the here and now. He made his displeasure with EA’s digital version of him known in one succinct tweet.

You’d think the folks at EA wouldn’t want to get on Reaves’ bad side. He’s the Blues’ designated hitter – with his body and his fists. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native tallied only 2 goals and 6 assists in 63 games for St. Louis last season. While Reaves finished 546th in the league in scoring in 2013-14, he was 12th in the league in penalty minutes with 126.

Reaves has been hearing it from teammates and friends in the NHL about his dark digital alter ego. Blues goaltender Brian Elliott, ever the eagle eye, tweeted that he noticed something different between the real Reaves and the EA one.

“I know eh…wrong jersey…,” Elliott wrote.