Jun 19, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Willie O'Ree is pictured on the red carpet during the 2019 NHL Awards at Mandalay Bay. Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

NHL players to wear custom Willie O'Ree-inspired skates

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 2/17/21

Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's color barrier when he became the first Black player to take the ice for the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958 against the Montreal Canadiens. He'll now be honored by players across the league with custom skates.

The NHL announced Wednesday that some players, including Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane and Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, will wear custom O'Ree-inspired skates, designed by Bauer, this week. One side of the skate will feature an image of O'Ree and read "All I needed was the opportunity" and "January 18, 1958," to signify the first time he took the ice for the Bruins.

Willie O'Ree's likeness and the favorite phrase of the first Black player in NHL history will be featured on a custom skate designed by Bauer that will be worn by some NHL players this week. https://t.co/jgrTxVLqvu
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) February 17, 2021

The other side has a brown fist, a peace symbol and the words "Respect," "Equality," "Diversity," "Inclusion," "Inspire," "Change," "BLM" and the phrases, "The work isn't done yet," "Make the impossible possible" and "A movement not a moment."

O'Ree notched 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 45 career games. He won two scoring titles in the minor leagues in Canada's Western Hockey League (WHL) between 1961 and 1974, scoring 30-plus goals four times, with a career-high 38 goals in 19-64-65 and 1968-69. He also appeared in 50 games for the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1972-73.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a "builder" of the game in 2018.

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