His name is Willy O'Ree.
On January 18th, 2008, the Boston Bruins held a ceremony at the TD Bank North Garden to honor the 50th anniversary of his NHL debut as the first black man to play in the League.
However, the history between Black players and the sport of Hockey hasn't always been bright.
Since, the first time they hit the ice as kids, to the time they become well-known players around the League, things have never been easy.
Pittsburgh Penguins Georges Laraque has been interviewed back in the time when he played for the Edmonton Oilers.
"My own team-mates refused to accept me, because I was black", said the player whose perseverance has been inspired by Baseball’s Jackie Robinson's story. "I remember fighting all the time" said Laraque, addressing the way he would protect himself against the way he was considered and treated in— let's face it— what appears to be a white men's sport.
His father recalled Laraque being a young Hockey player, scoring four goals during a camp and finally being cut from the roster due to the color of his skin.
To date, there are not more than 20 black players in the National Hockey League.
Two reasons:
· Players do not feel like getting through a sport in which they would be considered different no matter what;
· The demographic repartition of the population.
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