50 years ago and some change, Willie O’Ree, 22 years old, stepped onto the ice at the hallowed Montreal Forum, a brand-new member of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins, who had just called him up from the minors. It was January 18, 1958.

He only played that night and the next, for a total of two games. But three seasons later, O’Ree was back, this time lacing up his skates 43 times for the Bruins. It was then that he was dubbed “The Jackie Robinson of Hockey” for breaking the NHL’s color barrier.

Today, O’Ree is the Director of the NHL’s Diversity Program, which aims to bring the game of ice hockey to inner city kids and other underprivileged youths. He oversees some 39 programs, all designed to get as many kids on the ice as possible, so that the trail O’Ree blazed doesn’t get overgrown with weeds.

He recently sat down with SET during a visit to Detroit. Here’s the first installment of a multi-part series that SET will run of our Q & A with “The Jackie Robinson of Hockey.”

SET: Talk about the NHL Diversity Program and your role in it.

O’Ree: Ten years ago, I was appointed director of the Diversity Program by (NHL) Commissioner (Gary) Bettman. We have approximately 39 programs throughout North America. What I do are on and off-ice clinics with these programs, personal appearances, autograph sessions, fundraisers. I speak to about 40 schools a year. I go into the inner cities and try to encourage boys and girls to play hockey. Basically, I’ve had good success trying to let these kids know that there’s another sport out there that they can play. The tough part is getting them on the ice. But once we get them on the ice and they start maneuvering the puck with the stick, we find out that a lot of these boys and girls have a lot of natural talent.

The nice thing about the program is that it only costs about $50 per year for equipment. We will outfit each player with protective gear through our equipment bank. We register them thru USA Hockey; we have volunteers who will pick them up and take them to practice and to games. We will not turn any boy or girl away, even if they don’t have the cost.

“I’m looking for more, not only black players, but players of color to
get into the league in the upcoming years.”

SET: As you look at the league today, are you happy with its diversity? And if not, what can be done to improve upon it?

O’Ree: Well, when I played I was the only black player in the league, and there were only six teams. Now there’s 30 teams in the league, and there’s approximately 12 to 17 black players in the NHL. I’m looking for more, not only black players, but players of color to get into the league in the upcoming years.

A lot of people say, “Well, why aren’t there more blacks playing hockey?” First of all, hockey is a very unique sport ... you need ice to play, to develop your skills. And when you talk to the black players in the league today, they had access to ice. If we can get more rinks built, then we can get more kids playing. There are more kids playing hockey today than ever before. There are more girls playing hockey today than ever before. But I think we’ll see more black hockey players in the NHL in the coming years. There’s more of them playing in the juniors and other levels.

Come back to SetMagazine.com for our fifth and final installment of our Q&A with Willie O’Ree, in which he talks about why he loves hockey, how he got started, and what he likes to do off the ice!