Hockey is for Everyone, News, Peewee AE, 2019-2020, AE (Richmond Hill Hockey)

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Feb 27, 2020 | Paul Hamilton | 1926 views
Hockey is for Everyone
The Canadian Hockey League or CHL, is comprised of the best young players from around the world showcasing their skills and competing for the illustrious Memorial Cup. But back in 1895, the CHL stood for another famous hockey league. The Coloured Hockey League, an all-Black men’s association out of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

That’s right, before the NHL was formed back in 1917 or it’s predecessor the National Hockey Association (NHA) which began in 1909, the CHL was established as one of the first organized ice hockey leagues in North America. The innovative style played in the Coloured Hockey League gave birth to many of today’s standards including the slapshot and the butterfly. In the early days, the wind-up slapshot and goaltenders playing from their knees were both forbidden in the National Hockey League. In 1937, twenty years after the NHL was formed, Alex Shibicky was cited as the first player to use the slapshot in a game as a member of the New York Rangers. However, it was a Black Canadian hockey player named Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eurekas who invented the slapshot while playing in the Coloured Hockey League in 1906.

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Saturday’s were special growing up in Scarborough, Ontario. After a day filled with grocery shopping, house cleaning and other chores, we sat down in front of the TV, waiting for Howie Meeker, Dave Hodge and the rest of the Hockey Night in Canada crew. My dad’s favourite team was the Buffalo Sabres and if they were playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was must see TV. There was Mike Foligno, Danny Gare, Craig Ramsay, Dale McCourt (Interesting Fact: the McCourts lived down the street from me and I delivered the morning newspaper to their front door - pretty cool) and of course, Gilbert Perrault. But there was also Val James, the first African-American player in the National Hockey League and my dad’s hero, Tony McKegney. Tony was tough, never afraid to backdown from a challenge on and off the ice. His speed was undeniable, and his hands were magic when the puck landed on his stick. He was a special player who worked hard and earned his way on to the Sabres roster. His skill level was on par or better than the other players, scoring 36 goals and 37 assists during the 82-83 season. He belonged. It was in that moment, watching my dad admire his favourite player that I understood hockey was more than just a game to him. In Tony McKegney, Val James, Willie O’Ree, Mike Marson, Grant Fuhr, Georges Laraque, Pokey Reddeck and the other early black hockey players, he saw himself. A black man who worked hard seeking only what every person in this great country covets. A life lived on the principles of equality. A journey that affords fairness to all. An opportunity to belong.  

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I’ve had the opportunity to coach at the competitive level in Richmond Hill for the past 5 seasons and it’s been an incredible experience. Working with volunteer coaches to teach the game to hundreds of kids and using hockey as a platform to support them in their development as young players and young people. As Black History Month comes to an end, let’s recognize the trailblazers who continue to make the game more inclusive and accessible to all. People like Kim Davis, The National Hockey League’s Executive Vice President, Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs. Her role is focused on pushing the game into new diverse and communities, expand the boundaries of the game. Kwame Damon Mason who is a Toronto film maker and his documentary Soul on Ice: Past, Present & Future examines the history and showcases the contribution of black athletes in hockey. Renee Hess who in 2018 started the Black Girls Hockey Club, bringing black woman into the global hockey community. Bernice Carnegie who is the co-founder of the Future Aces Foundation, with her father and Canadian hockey legend, Herb Carnegie. And let’s not forget about the black coaches who continue to face the harsh realities of racism each time they walk into an arena. Coaches like Nathaniel Brooks (GTHL), Jason Babb (OMHA) and Cyril Bollers, head coach of the Jamaican national ice hockey team who recently won the 2019 Amerigol LATAM Cup.

As we continue to forge ahead, growing the sport we so passionately love to watch and play, let’s do so with compassion and an understanding that the game must be made available to all. Not just blacks, but Asians, women, gay, transgender, physically abled, people with special needs. Let’s ensure that all kids and families know that hockey is for all, all the time. During Black History month and the other eleven months of the year.
I’m honoured that my history includes hockey because it really is our game.  

A community where we all belong.

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