Like most sports, hockey is a white dominated sport. You almost never see black players in the NHL today. One of the reasons behind this is because they are not given much exposure growing up which makes it difficult for them to find role models that look like them when they are young. Hockaday says that “[he] would like to see more black players in the game, not necessarily because [he thinks they are necessary for the league’s success, but rather] to make it more exciting.”
How many black players are in the nhl
Currently, black people make up about 11% of the US population. This is compared to 3% of players in the NHL today. It would be nice to see more black faces on the ice because it would help give kids that don’t always relate with hockey players a reason to watch and participate in this fun and exciting sport.
While there there are currently only eight black players in the NHL. If we could reach out and expose black people to this sport, we might see a drastic change in the players who play it one day.
The current eight black NHL Players:
Jamal Mayers – St. Louis Blues
Nigel Dawes – New York Rangers
Wayne Simmonds – Philadelphia Flyers
Al Stewart – Pittsburgh Penguins/Minnesota Wild
Marcel Goc – Pittsburgh Penguins
T.J. Galiardi – Calgary Flames
Kevin Westgarth – Carolina Hurricanes/Los Angeles Kings
Andrew Ference – Boston Bruins (captain)
Challenges that black players face playing hockey
There are many challenges that black players face playing hockey. One of these is that they do not have as much exposure to the sport as their white counterparts. Another problem is that there aren’t too many role models for them to look up to and learn from, thus creating a negative stereotype about hockey being a “white person’s sport.”
There are so many kids in the African American community that love and play hockey. Having more black players would be a great way to help them embrace the sport and especially give them someone who they can relate to, which means having more black people involved with hockey on all levels of play is very important.
The number of black people playing hockey has increased in recent years, but there is still much more to be done. If we could do something to reach out and promote the sport to black children around the US everyone would benefit from it.
Some famous black players in the NHL
One of the most famous black players in NHL history is Grant Fuhr, who was a goalie for the Edmonton Oilers. He not only excelled at his position, but also led his team to five Stanley Cup championships during his career.
Another legendary player is Willie O’Ree, who was the first black hockey player in NHL history. He started playing in 1958 for the Boston Bruins and was able to break the “color barrier” that had previously kept black players out of the league.
What we can do to encourage more black people to play hockey
If we want to see more black players in the NHL, we need to make sure that they have as many opportunities as possible. For example, some of these players do not typically receive the same exposure as white players because there are just not as many scouts and coaches available.
Thus, it would be nice to see more camps and development programs for young black players.
Overall, we need to make sure to expose black people to hockey and the opportunities it presents. By doing this we can help them embrace this fun and exciting sport and also give kids that currently lack role models someone they can look up to and relate with.
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