Hockey in recent years has shown progress in the diversity of players, coaches, and fans. Although there’s progress at the pro and college levels, it’s still miles from full inclusion.
A quick diversity count:
- 6 U.S. born Black players, nearly 30 total in the NHL
- 3 Black players in the second year of the PWHL
- 3 Black players in the NCHC
- 1 Black assistant coach (St Thomas’s Leon Haywood, a 17-year coaching veteran)
Over the past few weeks, before hockey season began in earnest, we talked to several people about hockey’s present and future diversity.
Although the Minnesota Wild currently has zero Black players, the NHL team over the years has had its share. Wayne Peterson, the team’s senior director of community relations and hockey partnerships, pointed out several programs and initiatives that the Wild has hosted each year to encourage more people to participate in hockey, especially Black people.
“‘Hockey Is For Me’ is a program we’re very proud of. It’s 4 years old now, and this past year, we had the biggest numbers ever: 51 kids participated,” said Peterson, who added that the team is in its fifth year of working with area Boys and Girls Clubs to bring youth in to see hockey operations as well as games.
“We’re excited about all the things we do to help grow the game, get more kids of color, including Black kids involved in the game,” Peterson pointed out.
John Kofi Osei-Tutu is one of two Black certified NHL hockey agents. He was forced to quit playing due to a medical condition but remained in the game in some capacity since the mid-2000s.
“I think the game has grown more diverse over time,” the agent observed. “I think that the game is getting more diverse on the ice. You start to see more culturally diverse referees. You’re seeing more culturally and gender diverse coaches,” Osei-Tutu said but added that hockey needs to do more to “broaden its viewership” among non-white groups.
California native Renee Hess founded Black Girl Hockey Club to get more Black females in hockey, both as players and fans. She recently published “Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her,” a collection of essays on the history of Blacks in hockey and the future of Blacks in the sport. “I’ll talk a lot about how we love a game that doesn’t always give us (love) back,” stressed Hess, adding that although several NHL clubs have helped to further diversity, there’s still need to “continue to push in that direction.”
Canadian natives Mikyla Grant-Mentis (Montreal), Sarah Nurse (Toronto), and Sophie Jaques (Minnesota) are the only three Black players in the PWHL this season, down one from last season.
“Definitely. diversity is still an issue that needs to be talked about,” reaffirmed Jaques. “I’m hoping that in the future that number [of Black players] will continue to rise.”
The NCHC has been a diversity leader in college hockey: Haywood was one of two Black assistant coaches in the league at one time, at the same time.
Currently, there are three Black players: Kaiden Mbereko and Zaccharya Wisdom of Colorado College, and EJ Emory of North Dakota.