Color of Hockey: Terrance hopes to represent Mohawk Nation in NHL

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Carey Terrance, a forward with the Erie of the Ontario Hockey League and the U.S. national team that won the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Switzerland. Terrance, who is Mohawk, is No. 38 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters ahead of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft in Nashville on June 28-29.

Carey Terrance received a hero's homecoming when he returned from the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Switzerland with a gold medal around his neck.

The 18-year-old forward for the U.S. and Erie of the Ontario Hockey League sat atop a vehicle and waved to fans who lined a parade route in May through the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, which encompasses parts of New York, Ontario and Quebec along each side of the St. Lawrence River.

"It feels like the whole community is behind me," Terrance said. "I don't think anyone in this community has gone this far, at least in hockey. I can feel the support that's pushing me forward and it means the world to know that everyone is rooting me on."

Terrance and the community of about 12,000 hope that push leads to him being selected in the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. The first round is June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS) with rounds 2-7 on June 29 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS).

Terrance (6-foot, 178 pounds) is No. 38 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel, up from No. 50 in the midterm ranking.

His 30 goals led Erie this season, and his 47 points (17 assists) in 67 games tied for the team lead.

Terrance had six points (two goals, four assists) in seven games at the U-18 Worlds, including the tying third-period goal in the United States' 3-2 overtime win against Sweden in the championship game April 30.

"He's a very versatile player," said Dan Muse, coach of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program's Under-18 team. "He's a guy who played a lot of center this year, but can also play wing. He has a knack for getting himself open, a knack for finding that space in the net front area. We knew he could kill penalties. He could be out there later in the game if we're down a goal or up a goal. When you have that type of versatility, that's something that I think can be attractive to a team."

Terrance's versatility was coupled with adaptability at the U-18 Worlds, where he was one of only two players on the U.S. roster who weren't USNTDP members.

"That team has been together for a long time," he said, "and for me to come in just for the tournament was kind of outrageous for me and nerve-racking, but the staff and the boys were really good to me. I think it helped me a lot.

"Playing with those guys, they're all really skilled and they have really good chemistry together. It was a fun tournament, and it was a fun last game."

Muse said Terrance's assimilation into the national team at the tournament was seamless.

"We played an exhibition game against Czechia prior to the tournament after he (Terrance) started," Muse said. "We're still in the first period and he's speaking up on the bench, he's talking to guys, he's being vocal in between shifts. That's not the normal thing to happen to a player that comes in, but as a coach that's exactly what you want to see. He jumped in with both feet. There was no dipping the toes in the water with him."

Terrance said he's proud of his Indigenous heritage and to come from Akwesasne, a community known more for producing professional lacrosse players than pro hockey players.

"I think it's just taking pride in who I am," he said. "I grew up on the reservation, played hockey on the reservation my whole life, played lacrosse here."

He was a regular at the Little Native Hockey League, an annual tournament for Indigenous youth held in Ontario. There, he met Indigenous hockey legends like Jordin Tootoo, who played 723 NHL games for the Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks from 2003-17 and Brigette Lacquette, who was the first Indigenous woman to play for the Canadian women's national team.

"To go to the Little NHL, it's like every single reservation all together," he said. "From Akwesasne, we'd probably have around 10 teams go, and we'd try to stay in the same hotel. Everyone's together, everyone's having a good time playing hockey. That's the only time I really got to play with my friends back home."

Now Terrance is waiting for his chance at the NHL, where he wants to follow in the footsteps of Tootoo and other Indigenous players. At 18, he has already learned what it means to be a role model.

"We live on a reservation and it's hard to look forward to things," he said. "I did an afternoon thing at the Boys & Girls Club, an afterschool program. I played floor hockey with them, brought pictures and signed them, and they were on top of the world. That means a lot to me."

Photos: James "Jeep" DiCioccio/Erie Otters, USA Hockey