Color of Hockey: Oduya connects with family roots to grow game in Kenya

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 retired NHL defenseman Johnny Oduya, who returned to his late father's homeland in Kenya in July during a visit to help advance hockey in the East Africa country.

Johnny Oduya visited Kenya in July to conduct some business, play a little hockey and reconnect with his African roots.
The 40-year-old retired NHL defenseman was born and raised in Sweden. He returned to his late father's village in the East African nation's Karachuonyo Constituency for the first time in more than 30 years not knowing what to expect.
Oduya wanted to explore his family's history, something he didn't have time to do while winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Chicago Blackhawks (2013, 2015), a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and playing in 850 regular-season and 106 playoff games from 2006-18.
"It was a little bit, 'How will it be after so long, will you feel things that feel a part of you?'" he said. "It felt very natural in a lot of ways, even though I haven't been part of the culture for most of my life. I grew up with my mom in Sweden and I'm very 'Swedish' that way."
Oduya has embraced Kenya and the country's ice and roller hockey community has taken him in with open arms. He made his second visit to Nairobi in two years to spend time with the Kenya Ice Lions,
the nation's only organized ice hockey team
.

Oduya's visits were also related to promoting Atunya, an athletic apparel brand that he started in Sweden about five years ago with the aim of helping to increase hockey's diversity.
Oduya said he chose the word 'Atunya' because it means lion or relentless among Kenya's Luo tribe. He picked Kenyan hockey as a starting point of the brand's image and charitable efforts because of his family ties to the country.
"I want to show a different way of hockey," he said. "It's the most traditional sport, and probably the most segregated sport we also have in the western world. I'm trying to open up that space. That can be more dynamic than what it is. We need that to attract different types of people to the sport and grow it."
Atunya hosted a photo exhibit and short documentary about Kenya's hockey community at Gallery Steinsland Berliner in Stockholm in March. Proceeds from the sale of the prints went to Kenyan hockey.
"That's the reason why we want to succeed with all of this," Oduya said. "No so much for selling clothes. For me, there's a bigger purpose connected to that."
The Ice Lions first captured the hockey world's attention when they were flown to Canada in 2018 and played their first organized games with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.
Since then, current and former NHL players, from Hockey Hall of Famer Viacheslav Fetisov to Bernie Saunders, have journeyed to Nairobi to play with the Ice Lions.
Oduya brought a large bag full of hockey equipment provided by Bauer Sweden with him on his recent trip. He and Calgary Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington,
a fellow Swede whose mother hails from Eretria
, donated new jerseys and rollerblades when they visited Nairobi in 2021.

He and Killington joined the roller hockey players in one of their regular weekend pickup games in a large parking lot.
"I'm not a big inline guy," Oduya said. "We had a tough time last time keeping up."
Oduya happily skated with the Ice Lions in July on their small rink inside Nairobi's Panari Hotel. The rink was closed during his 2021 visit due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
The retired defenseman, who had 190 points (41 goals, 149 assists) in 850 regular season games and 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) in 106 playoff games with the Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers, said he was impressed by the Kenyan players on the ice and street.
"The passion, the drive, the willingness, going down, blocking shots, doing the crazy things that I sometimes wish Swedish skills kids would do, but don't want to do," he said.
Tim Colby, a Canadian diplomat who is coach and general manager of the Ice Lions, said Oduya's presence left a lasting impression on his players.
"They see him first and foremost as a professional, a guy who succeeded at the highest levels and won Cups," Colby said. "They related to Johnny not by the tribe he comes from, but as an African and Kenyan coming back."
Photos: Kennedy Amungo, Johnny Oduya