If you say you CAN, Than you CAN
If you say you CAN'T, You're right.
~ William O'Ree
Willie's Life
Growing up in Fredericton, Willie O'Ree loved hockey. He was just three years old when he learned how to skate and started to play competitive hockey at a very young age. The hockey life for a black family was not very common, because most black kids would ever get a shot at going to the professional leagues because of their skin color. Hockey was a white sport back then. No black man dared to try and steal that sport from the whites. But O'Ree really loved hockey. He skated, every chance he got and wanted to become a professional player. After seeing Jackie Robinson change baseball into a diverse sport when Willie was just a teen, he knew that maybe one day he could do the same as Jackie and fight through segregation to play a sport professionally. When willie was becoming a young man in the late 1950's, he got a chance to play for the Quebec Aces, a minor league team. After putting up an impressive season for the Aces with 34 points, and 80 penalty minutes in just 68 games, the Boston Bruins noticed O'Ree and gave him a chance at the big leagues. Willie's first game, on January 18, 1958 was a very special night for Willie and for America as well as the black community. O'Ree became the first black hockey player to play in the NHL. He did not perform to his highest abilities, as the nerves really got to him, but after a few line changes he did fine. After playing a few games in Boston, O'Ree was sent back to the minors and stayed there until the 1960-1961 season, when he was called back up and and in that season he netted 4 goals and 10 assists in 43 games. during his short time in the NHL, O'Ree was tortured by opposing players and took nasty cheap shots as well as racial slurs from them and the fans. Early in his career William O'Ree was struck by a puck in the eye and lost his vision in it. For the rest of his career he played with just one eye's vision and still found a way to be a game changer for his teams that he played on. After the 1960-1961 season, Willie was sent back down to the WHL and would stay in the minor league systems for the rest of his career. He ended his 21 season career with a bunch of encouraged black children, knowing they could be like him one day.
Leadership
After the civil war came to a close, blacks were supposed to have equality and slavery was supposed to be outlawed for good. But they never really regained their freedom, as the Jim Crow Laws restricted them from many actions and they were basically always tied down to the white men's control. Willie O'Ree showed amazing leadership as he inspired thousands of black men and children to fulfill their dreams, regardless to the discrimination that they faced. A new hope had been reborn for the black people and Willie O'Ree was one of the first people to really start establishing it, as well as Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Legacy
After Willie O'Ree's career came to a close, more and more black hockey players were making it to the NHL. One man in particular, the second black NHL player was Mike Marson. Marson watched Willie O'Ree play when he was a child and was inspired to continue O'Ree's legacy. Mike Marson was drafted in 1974 to the Washington Capitals. shortly after that season more and more black players like Jerome Iginla joined in. Now there is over 20 black players currently playing in the NHL including PK Subban, Wayne Simmonds, Joel Ward, and Evander Kane. Willie also serves today as a hockey coach for children in his community.