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). 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. [NB 1] He was called up to the Boston Bruins of the NHL to replace an injured player. [3] In 1916, Fred (Bud) Kelly of London played for the 118 Battalion team of the Ontario Hockey League. O’Ree himself noted, “It didn’t really dawn on me then,”[17] that he had broken the color barrier in professional hockey.
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”. Last March, Allan Mitchell compiled a ranking of the 10 best American players in the NHL.
The main goal of the clinics is to increase the diversity of hockey and allow children who are unfamiliar with the sport to have a chance at trying it out.
[1] The aim was to increase and retain male membership. The history of black players in North American ice hockey has roots dating back to the late 19th century. 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. 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. ", "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", Politicians during the Reconstruction Era, Treatment of the enslaved in the United States, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), African Americans in the Canadian Football League, History of the African Americans in Los Angeles, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_players_in_ice_hockey&oldid=977294255, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. During the 1958 season, Canadian born Willie O’Ree became the first player of African descent to join the National Hockey League. Nowadays, O’Ree serves as the NHL Diversity Ambassador and aims to raise participation of hockey by all races through hosting programs at local ice arenas. [citation needed], Herb Carnegie's hockey career began in 1938 with the Toronto Young Rangers and continued in the early 1940s with the Buffalo Ankerites, a team in a mines league that played in mining towns in northern Ontario and Quebec. These are the top-ten point, goal, and assist scorers in any franchise history. The event starts on February 1, the same date as Black History Month, and has the goal of raising awareness of equality throughout the league.
[4] The other line members consisted of his brother, Ossie Carnegie and Manny McIntyre, originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick. Most players, including Smith-Pelly and Evander Kane of the San Jose Sharks, believe that the NHL has still a long way to go. This list of the greatest American hockey players includes some of the NHL's best players, including Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick, Jonathan Quick, and Ed Olczyk. One of the first all-black teams in Ontario was the Orioles. Modern-day racial incidents in the NHL come in many different forms; however, the most prominent are player and spectator interactions. They were recognized as much for their talent and skill as their skin colour (Herb was at centre, Ossie was right wing, McIntyre was the left wing). He found that if the fans were against him playing because of his skin colour, he may as well ignore it and focus on what he does best. [19] The most notable players of African American descent are Dustin Byfuglien, who is of Norwegian, African, and Swedish descent, Kyle Okposo, who is of Nigerian descent, and Joel Ward, whose ancestors are from Barbados. The team was from St. Catharines and played in the Niagara District Hockey League during the 1930s.