Carnegie was a Toronto-born hockey player of Jamaican descent and trailblazer for truly growing the game and inspiring generations of hockey players to come. Carnegie played in the semi-professional Quebec Provincial League and the
Quebec Senior Hockey League
and was even offered a contract to play in the New York Rangers' minor league system.
"When you see yourself in other people that look like you it gives you that inspiration to truly reach for your dreams," Rane Carnegie, the grandson of Herb said in an interview with Avalanche In-Arena Host/Reporter Rachel Tos. "You can see that your dreams are not just dreams, they can be a reality."
After retiring from the sport in 1953, Carnegie created one of the first hockey schools in Canada called the Future Aces Hockey School. The following year, he wrote the "Future Aces Creed" which is based on the twelve attributes of the Future Aces Philosophy and is an attempt to foster respect, tolerance, diversity and sportsmanship among young people.
Carnegie passed away in 2012, but his legacy hasn't wavered. His children and grandchildren continue to help promote the Future Aces and to create a meaningful impact in the hockey community.
They also helped found the Herbert H. Carnegie Future Aces Foundation. They've been able to award annual scholarships to applicants that demonstrate the values of the Future Aces Creed and contribute to society by exhibiting good citizenship through community service, character-building initiatives and/or by participating in humanitarian causes. So far, the foundation has supported approximately 900 students with $1,000 scholarships.
