Yesterday marked the anniversary of an important milestone for black athletes in this country. On January 18, 1958
Willie O’Ree laced up his skates as a member of the Boston Bruins and became the first African-American player to compete on an NHL sheet of ice.
The Bruins would win the game 3-0 against the Montreal Canadians on the historic day but much has changed since then. If you doubt that, take a look at the Atlanta Thrashers roster this season.
The Thrashers started the season with a record five African-American players on their roster. Dustin Byfuglien, Johnny Oduya, Evander Kane, Anthony Stewart and Nigel Dawes skated on opening night in October and after hitting the halfway point of the season four remain. While Dawes was relegated to the Thrashers AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves where he currently leads his team with 21 goals scored, American-born Byfuglien sits among the top scoring defensemen in the NHL.
Getting back to O’Ree, the player dressed for just two games that season but returned to play in 43 games in the 1960-61 season. Besides the racial divide that was evident in the NHL at the time, O’Ree overcame a few other obstacles including 95% blindness in his right eye compliments of an errant puck in 1956.
O’Ree went on to play minor league hockey until 1979 and was recognized by his country years later when he received Canada’s highest citizen award, the Order of Canada in 2008.
In the meantime, look for Byfuglien during NHL All Star Weekend in January in Raleigh, North Carolina where he will represent the Thrashers alongside teammate Tobias Enstrom. And like Jackie Robinson did for Major League Baseball, hats off to Willie O’Ree for opening the door for young minority stars in the NHL.
Used with permission of the author.
Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.
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