Color of Hockey: Renovated Fort Dupont Arena 'second home' to Henderson

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 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame coach Neal Henderson, whose Fort Dupont Cannons are back at their home rink in Washington, D.C., after it was closed in 2023 for a $39 million renovation.

Neal Henderson and the Fort Dupont Cannons are finally home.

The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame coach and the youth hockey program he founded nearly 50 years ago are back at Southeast Washington D.C.’s Fort Dupont Ice Arena after it closed in spring 2023 for a $39 million renovation.

The facility reopened last December, and D.C.’s Department of Parks and Recreation tapped Henderson and his coaches to produce the next generation of Cannons through its Youth Hockey Development Program that began Oct. 5.

“We’re back on the ice again, which you might as well call like a second home for me,” said Henderson, whose program used Maryland’s Tucker Road Ice Rink while renovations at D.C.’s only indoor ice rink were underway. “It feels good to be back.”

D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Director Thennie Freeman said it’s fitting for Henderson and North America’s oldest minority-oriented hockey program to lead the rebuilt rink’s hockey development effort.

“The Cannons were historically at Fort Dupont Ice Arena," Freeman said, "and so of course when the ice arena came back online, under DPR leadership for the first time, we wanted to just bring them back. 

"This program is about putting young people on the ice, building their confidence, and making sure they see themselves in a sport that has not always been accessible to everyone. We are proud to partner with Coach Neal Henderson and continue the legacy of the Fort Dupont Cannons.”

About 20 boys and girls ages 8 to 13 make up the inaugural learn to play class. Clad in white, yellow and black Cannons jerseys, they practice for two hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, receiving on-ice instruction from coaches Hank Lee, Ralph Featherstone and former Fort Dupont players.

At 89 years old, Henderson observes the practices from one of the rink’s benches, sometimes calling individual players or the entire group over to explain what went right or wrong during a particular drill.

Henderson and the coaches say they’re building hockey players from scratch. Nearly four weeks into the program, players are yet to have sticks or pucks on the ice.

“Why have sticks if you don’t know how to skate properly?” Henderson said. “Once they improve their skating, forwards and backwards, then we’ll introduce sticks and pucks, maybe in two more weeks.” 

It’s the same approach Henderson has employed coaching more than 1,500 players since he established the program in 1978. The former semi-pro hockey player and Air Force veteran started the program to instill teamwork, discipline, perseverance, responsibility and accountability to boys and girls from some of Washington’s toughest neighborhoods.

Henderson was enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019 for a track record of molding youth who had little or no exposure to hockey into good players and even better people. He’s the first and only Black inductee to the Hall located in Eveleth, Minnesota.

The program’s success also led to “The Cannons (Brothers on Ice) ,” a 2022 documentary by director Steven Hoffner and co-director/producer AJ Messier with former NBA star Russell Westbrook as one of its producers.

A Fort Dupont Cannons patch is part of a Black hockey display in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, anchored by a statue of Willie O’Ree, who became the NHL’s first Black player on Jan. 18, 1958, when he debuted with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the old Montreal Forum.

Marc Cowans said he was excited to enroll his son 10-year-old son, Elijah, in Fort Dupont’s learn to play program when he learned Henderson and the Cannons are running it.

“I didn't play hockey as a kid, outside of like a little bit of street hockey with friends, and there weren’t a lot of Black kids playing hockey,” said Cowans, a Washington resident who grew up in Berlin, New Jersey, near Philadelphia. “Coach Neal, he’s definitely old school but you can definitely see that he is passionate about the program and about helping kids who don't know how to play hockey to learn how to skate so now they can play hockey. This program really enables access. I sent a story about Coach Neal to my mom, and she was like, ‘Oh wow, that's who is now helping Elijah with hockey?’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, it's pretty cool.’”

Josh Clause said he has seen week-by-week improvement in the skating of his 8-year-old son Hendrik from the drills and words of encouragement from Henderson and his coaches.

“They were doing skating drills one day and Hendrik was kind of down on himself and said, ‘Oh, I’m the worst,’” said Clause, a D.C. resident who played hockey growing up in Buffalo. “Coach Ralph (Featherstone) heard him and came over and was, like, ‘No, you’re not. You’re the best.’  When he got off the ice, his eyes lit up and he said, ‘Coach Ralph said I was the best, and I skated the best.’ That encouraged him and me.”

DPR’s Freeman said the goal of Fort Dupont’s hockey development program is to produce a competitive Cannons team.

“We’ll get them competing, just like our developmental football league where they are learning the tenets of the game,” Freeman said. “Right now, it’s about learning the game and understanding the game. What we’re teaching young people is what they can do and not what they can’t do.”

Henderson told his young Fort Dupont students after a recent Saturday practice that if they keep following instructions, stay focused and keep working hard on and off the ice, “I guarantee you that you’ll have more wins than losses” in hockey and life.