'Willie' producer seeks positive conversation about race

It's no coincidence that the producer of the Willie O'Ree documentary decided to hold a webinar discussion on race the day before Juneteenth, which celebrates the effective end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865.

"It's purposefully we did that," said Bryant McBride, the producer of "Willie," a film about the NHL's first black player. "A lot of people are saying 'What now?' What happens when Black Lives Matter isn't trending on Twitter anymore. We want to really talk about the system and how we got here, creating a positive conversation around race."

McBride, a former NHL executive, will be one of the panelists for "Willie -- Creating Constructive Conversations About Race," a webinar talk presented by Prodigy Search and hosted by Anson Carter, an NBC hockey analyst and former NHL player, on Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. Buffalo Sabres forward Wayne Simmonds; David Alward, Canadian Counsel General to New England and former premier of New Brunswick; and Frank Nakano, general manager/senior vice president of sports and entertainment at JP Morgan Chase, a contributor to "Willie," are also panelists.

Those wishing to participate in the webinar can sign up here.

The conversation will center on the lessons learned from "Willie," which chronicles the life and times of O'Ree, who became the first black NHL player when he debuted with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum on Jan. 18, 1958.

O'Ree didn't make it to the NHL alone, McBride said; it took allies from the black and white communities for him to achieve his goal. McBride said that's what's needed today following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25. The incident, captured on video, sparked demonstrations worldwide and prompted NHL players to speak out.

"If you look back at the film, we made a point to showcase black and white allies," McBride said. "We talked about not as much as Willie's prowess as a player but his journey, all the difficult years he's had to navigate."

O'Ree did so with the friendship and support of white friends and neighbors back in Fredericton, New Brunswick, like Junior Dougherty and David and Brenda Sansom, who helped mount a successful petition campaign to get O'Ree enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Builders category in November 2018.

"We're talking about Willie O'Ree in the documentary and how he's able to overcome race, and you can see from aspects in his life allies and all the great friends that he has. It's just so relevant today," said Carter, who scored 421 points (202 goals, 219 assists) in 674 games for the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes. "It wasn't just black people helping. It was white and black people coming together, which is so crucial today in a world where everyone is so divided."

The descendant of an escaped slave from South Carolina, O'Ree had a brief NHL career: 45 games during the 1957-58 and 1960-61 seasons, scoring 14 points (four goals, 10 assists). But he had a lengthy and prolific minor league career, playing primarily for San Diego and Los Angeles in the old Western Hockey League and scoring 639 points (328 goals, 311 assists) in 785 games from 1961-74.

O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 12, 2018, in recognition of his accomplishments off the ice, including his work across North America as the NHL Diversity Ambassador. In that role, he's helped establish 39 grassroots hockey programs over two decades and inspired more than 120,000 boys and girls to play hockey.