Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. O'Ree is still heavily involved with the NHL, in promoting the league's Diversity Program all over North America with amateur youth and adult hockey players. The first American born player of African descent in the NHL was Val James. However, he was offered less money than he was earning in the Quebec league and turned down all three offers made by the Rangers organization during his tryout. Historically, they were the first league to allow the goaltender to drop to the ice to stop the puck. James's short career was spent with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. The Pittsburgh Penguins did more than pay lip service to hockey inclusion and diversity on Thursday. The Best NHL Players To Have Their Numbers Retired, The Greatest Chicago Blackhawks of All Time, The Greatest Columbus Blue Jackets of All Time. [NB 1] He was called up to the Boston Bruins of the NHL to replace an injured player. [21], In 2019, the NHL designed a Black History Month mobile museum. She represented Team Canada internationally. [27] James is the daughter of a black father and white mother; she is the only Black Canadian to captain a national hockey team.[29]. The event is also promoted through social media with the hashtag HockeyIsForEveryone. He has touched the lives of tens of thousands … NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and several other guests, including Willie O'Ree, who was the first black player in … First black player to surpass 200 PIM in a NHL season: First black player to earn 20 shutouts: Grant Fuhr (1996–97), First black player to surpass 1,000 PIM in the NHL: Donald Brashear (1997–98), First black head coach in the NHL: Dirk Graham (, First black player to surpass 400 NHL Wins: Grant Fuhr (1999-00). Players tape their sticks with pride tape that represents awareness of equality, respect, and inclusion. In the semi-professional Quebec Provincial League, Herb was named most valuable player in 1946, 1947 and 1948. However, in the recent years, we have seen several black hockey players hog the limelight in the NHL. The organization announced the creation of the Willie O’Ree Academy for Black youth players, in celebration of O’Ree who was the first Black NHL player. After 13-year-old Divyne Apollon II became the target of racist taunts by opponents, his teammates jumped to his defense. Commissioner Gary Bettman has also raised awareness of racist incidents around the league by dedicating the month of February to be “Hockey is for Everyone Month”. According to an interview with Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly, “As a black hockey player, he [Smith-Pelly] knew exactly what they meant by, ‘Basketball, basketball, basketball!’”[15]  In this case, the spectators are taunting Smith-Pelly that he is better suited to play basketball, since the majority of the NBA is African American. According to an article by USA Today, 97% of the NHL is white, while the other 3% is made of different ethnicities. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; G/G = Goals per game; A/G = Assists per game; * = Active player; Bold = Currently Playing. Famous hockey players include Anson Carter, Wayne Simmonds, P.K. If you expand out to include players of African descent from Canada, Sweden, Finland, and France, then there are 25 players in the NHL. Willie O'Ree overcame numerous obstacles to become the first Black player in the National Hockey League. He made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 18 of the 1957–58 NHL season, against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black player in league history. [15], NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has supported his players wishes by including the zero-tolerance policy for racism. First black captain for Canadian national team: First black coach in professional hockey: John Paris Jr. of Windsor, Nova Scotia become the first black coach in professional hockey with the Atlanta Knights in 1994, First black player to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics: Jarome Iginla (2002), First time two black players played in the NHL in the same game: Mike Marson and Bill Riley. FOX 5 spoke to the Bernard brothers who are the only Black players on their team. Subban, Donald Brashear, and the ageless wonder Jarome Iginla. O’Ree's personal goals are to communicate that, “Your race can’t keep you from succeeding,”[17] to the younger children and to share how he overcame the racism he faced during his career. First black player to sign an NHL contract: First black player to surpass 20 goals in a single season: Alton White, Los Angeles Sharks, WHA, 1972–73 season. [15], Angela James played in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League, precursor to the National Women's Hockey League and Canadian Women's Hockey League. O’Ree has a hopeful outlook for the future of hockey's diversity. [1] All games were on an invitational basis with the trophy still residing in a private home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. ", "Active NHL Players Totals by Nationality - Career Stats", "With The Help Of First Black Player, NHL Rolls Mobile Black History Museum To D.C.", "Two OBHA Hall of Famers Recognized by International Ice Hockey", The Globe and Mail: Art Dorrington Was Considered The Jackie Robinson Of Hockey, "Weekes is a bold new voice for Hockey Night in Canada", Historically black colleges and universities, Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), History of African Americans in the Canadian Football League, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_players_in_ice_hockey&oldid=1002464518, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The National Hockey League (NHL), Olympics hockey games, and many others hockey leagues in the world have played a huge role in taking the sport to the world where the sport was completely unknown. Tap to unmute. Now it's your turn to vote on who you think are the best Black hockey players, whether they are current players in the NHL or former stars. In addition, any racial slurs, according to him, “would go in one ear, and out the other.”  O’Ree cites his brother as his main inspiration to become the first black hockey player. Modern-day racial incidents in the NHL come in many different forms; however, the most prominent are player and spectator interactions. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; G/G = Goals per game; A/G = Assists per game; * = Active player. Bi-racial Afro-Canadian ice hockey player Grant Fuhr was the first Black hockey player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (in 2003) and the first to win the Stanley Cup. Shopping. Players including Kane, Dumba, Aliu, Kadri and Simmonds … . James recalls fans taunting him with racial slurs as well as players committing penalties and fights against him because of his skin color. "If any of the black players have success," says Grier, "kids will want to emulate us." [28] In 2008, she, along with Cammi Granato (USA) and Geraldine Heaney (CAN), became the first women to be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hockey Hall of Fame. Playing a short career of only 45 games, O’Ree faced racism after being recalled from the Canadian minor leagues. Inspired by these superstars, more and more black kids are looking to follow the footsteps of their idols. O’Ree himself noted, “It didn’t really dawn on me then,”[17] that he had broken the color barrier in professional hockey. [15]  Of the 3% of the remaining ethnicities, twenty-six are black. The event caused fights to break out between all players of each team and a police escort was required for O’Ree to leave the building safely. [citation needed], In 1948, Carnegie was given a tryout with the New York Rangers and offered a contract to play in the Rangers' minor league system. IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time, p.61, Szymon Szenberg and Andrew Podnieks, 2008, Fenn Publishing Company Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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