Meet the incredible Black hockey players breaking records – and barriers – on the ice
Last week, Laila Edwards became the first Black US women’s ice hockey player to win a gold medal at the Olympics – a feat which she called “an incredible honor.”
“I get to be the first of something and a role model for others," Laila said to the NCAA. “Representation matters. No matter how uncomfortable it can be, it's for the next generation.”
With this accomplishment, she became part of an elite group of Black athletes who have made their mark on the sport thanks to their talent, hard work, and determination. And despite the fact that youth and professional ice hockey is still primarily white, these Black players have contributed significantly to the game and its future development.
So in honour of Black History Month, we took a look at the record-breaking history of these athletes – as well as the amazing events, organizations, and teams that helped in their success.
Willie O’Ree (CAN)
Nearly 70 years before Laila took home the gold, Willie O’Ree (CAN) became the first Black ice hockey player to skate in the National Hockey League (NHL), as a winger for the Boston Bruins.
Sometimes referred to as the “Jackie Robinson of hockey” for his boundary-breaking achievement, Willie paved the way for other Black athletes in professional settings, despite the racism that he faced from ice hockey fans in Canada and the US.
Although Willie only played two seasons, and he was the only Black player in the NHL until 1974, he has worked tirelessly as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1998 – where he has championed efforts to diversify the game through youth programs and travel.
Angela James (CAN)
Just as Willie O’Ree was able to break the race barrier in professional ice hockey, Angela James (CAN) made a similar accomplishment for the women’s game after she became the first Black woman to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010.
Angela played in the Central Ontario Women’s Hockey League – a precursor to the professional leagues for women – and represented Team Canada for international tournaments. She is the only Black woman to ever captain the national team, and she led the squad to four gold medals at the IIHF World Championships between 1990 - 1999.
In 2008, she became one of the first three women inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame alongside Cammi Granato (USA) and Geraldine Heaney (CAN), and she also shared this honour again with Cammi Granato when they were the first women inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame just two years later.
Today, Angela has gone down in history as the “Wayne Gretzky of Women’s Hockey” for her athleticism and skill on the ice, as well as her dedication to developing the sport at a youth level.
Read more stories about incredible athletes in our dedicated Sports and Fitness section!
Blake Bolden (USA)
After decades of fighting for a professional women’s hockey league, the NWHL was officially founded in 2015 as a place for talented female athletes to play ice hockey at an elite level.
On 11 October of that year, Blake Bolden (USA) – a defenseman from Euclid, Ohio – officially became the first Black female professional ice hockey player when she signed for the NWHL’s Boston Pride, and she helped the team win the inaugural championship Isobel Cup at the end of that season.
Blake played for the NWHL and abroad until her retirement in 2019, and following her departure she advocated for the #FortheGame movement which sought to improve the working conditions of professional women’s hockey. In 2023, their efforts were successful, and the NWHL was bought out to create the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) in North America.
Nowadays, Blake is still an active force in ice hockey, working as a broadcast analyst and a scout for the NHL. And in 2020, she became the first woman of color to ever scout in professional men's hockey, after signing a contract with the Los Angeles Kings.
Sarah Nurse (CAN)
One of the most prominent contemporary Black female ice hockey players is Sarah Nurse (CAN), who has two Guinness World Records titles under her belt.
The skillful forward currently plays for the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the PWHL, and steps in for Team Canada during international competitions like the Olympics.
Hockey fans would recognize her from being the first woman on the cover of the EA Sports NHL video game, though perhaps her most memorable public appearance was during the 2022 Winter Olympic games – when she took home gold for Canada.
During those Olympics, she became the first Black female ice hockey Olympic gold medallist in history – as well as winning the record for the most points scored in a Winter Olympic ice hockey tournament (female) with an incredible total of five goals and 13 assists in just seven games.
“I want to show the world women belong in hockey and that it shouldn’t matter where you come from, what you look like or what you identify as. There’s a place for you in the hockey world,” she wrote in The Park Journal.
“Representation is so important and I want to make sure that the little curly headed girl who may look like me believes she’s powerful and capable of anything.”
Jarome Iginla (CAN)
The first Black man to ever win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics is Jarome Iginla (CAN), as part of the Canadian men’s ice hockey team at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Born to a Nigerian father and American mother, Jarome is known as one of the greatest forwards of his era. He played in over 1,500 NHL games between 1996 and 2017, for a total of four different teams, but the majority of this time was spent with the Calgary Flames, where he served as a captain and played in six NHL All-Star games.
Jarome also represented Team Canada a number of times in his career, a standout moment being when he scored two goals and an assist to help Canada win their first gold medal in over 50 years at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Speaking to the New York Times after his historic win, he said that he’d “love to be a role model” for young Black athletes, and that: “I love hockey. If more kids can play and be a part of it, that's great. It's one of the thrills of my lifetime.”
Grant Fuhr (CAN)
While Jarome Iginla was growing up in Edmonton, one of his favourite players was Oilers player Grant Fuhr (CAN), who was the first Black goalie in the NHL.
Besides his boundary-breaking accomplishments, Fuhr was a dominant force on the ice – leading him to become the first Black man to win the Stanley Cup, which he did four times in five seasons (1983 - 1984 through 1987 - 1988) for an impressive total of five times.
In all, Grant played an astounding 19 seasons in the NHL for six different teams, which contributed to him becoming the first Black man inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was also chosen by the NHL as one of the top 100 players of all time due to his spectacular saves and “cat-like reflexes” – as well as his consistency on the ice.
Jay Sharerrs (CAN)
And besides the players themselves, a number of Black hockey-lovers have made advances in the sport for roles other than scoring goals.
When Jay Sharerrs (CAN) pulled on the black-and-white striped linesman jersey in 1990, he made history as the first Black official in the NHL – and a decade later, he rose into the role of as the first Black referee.
Though he has since retired from his 27-year career, he told Sportsnet that he was particularly pleased to see the growth in diversity of the game after Shandor Alphonso joined the NHL as the second Black official in 2014 – though he still hopes that more young Black athletes will consider refereeing as an alternative way to get to the professional leagues in the future.
“For me to look back and to think that, in terms of the game of hockey and officiating, that I was one of the first, it’s a very rewarding feeling – not just to see people participating, but to see them excelling,” he said.
Dirk Graham (CAN)
Canadian native Dirk Graham had a storied 13-year professional career as a forward in the NHL, but he also made headlines off the ice when he became the first Black head coach in the league for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1998.
Dirk already had history with the team, after playing for them for eight seasons between 1987 - 1995. During his time as a Blackhawk, he became the first Black player to captain an NHL team, which he did for six seasons.
Though his tenure as a coach was less successful than his era scoring goals, he has since used his hockey acumen as a talent scout for the NHL, where he is able to seek out the next generation of skillful players.
So here’s to hoping that more Black athletes take to the ice in the future – and thank you to all the talented trailblazers that paved the way – you are all Officially Amazing!
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