O'Ree Award finalist spotlight: Kendal Troutman

The Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award presented by Discover in the United States and Hyundai in Canada is given to an individual who, through hockey, has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society. The award honors O'Ree, the former NHL forward who became the first Black player to play in the NHL on Jan. 18, 1958, and has spent more than two decades as the NHL's diversity ambassador. After a public voting period and votes from O'Ree, NHL executives and Discover executives, one winner from the United States and one from Canada will be announced in June.

Today, a look at one of three United States finalists: Kendal Troutman.

Kendal Troutman was excited to enroll her daughter in figure skating classes when she wanted to try it after seeing it on television during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

“I wanted to expose my daughter to everything that I was not exposed to as a child,” said Troutman, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles.

But her excitement gave way to frustration as she tried to navigate her daughter, Amai Troutman, through a sport that didn’t feel welcoming.

“I was immediately confronted with lots of discriminatory barriers and eventually we quit because I realized that this sport is not for people like us,” Troutman said. “I just felt like we were in a space where we didn’t belong and where no one cared.”

Troutman turned her frustration into action in 2021 and founded 24 Degrees of Color, a program that introduces young people in underserved communities to ice sports in Los Angeles and helps guide their families through them.

Through her work, the 47-year-old Los Angeles native was named a finalist for the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award presented by Discover.

“This means that my community and I are breaking down barriers,” Troutman said. “It means that my community has been impacted and kids see the possibilities. That's what it means to me to be recognized for this. I feel valued and seen and loved, and that feels good.”

24 Degrees of Color provides participants access to learn-to-skate sessions, in-house hockey leagues, supplemental dry land training and private lessons for a $44 per month tuition, Troutman said.

The program skates out of the Toyota Performance Center, the Kings’ practice facility in El Segundo, and LA Kings Iceland in Paramount, California.

“We provide community and a safe and supportive environment,” she said. “We provide training to families to be able to navigate ice sports. We provide gear, equipment and costumes. We provide cultural experiences.”

The program started with eight kids in a learn-to-skate session in 2021 and has served more than 1,800 boys and girls since. It has 268 participants this season, about 69 percent of whom are Hispanic, Troutman said.

Youth from 24 Degrees of Color players participated in the Willie O’Ree Skills Weekend in Detroit March 19-22.

Troutman took a contingent to Toronto last year to skate with Hockey Equality, a nonprofit organization founded by retired NHL forward Anthony Stewart, and to Edges with Abbah, a local hockey school.

Blake Bolden, a former professional player who is a scout and community and hockey development specialist with the Los Angeles Kings and has worked with Troutman, said she has been instrumental in helping to grow ice sports in communities of color in the city.

“She’s just a saint because she saw a void and filled it,” said Bolden, who played in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and the National Women’s Hockey League. “I would say that with her heart, her passion, she’s been able to cultivate a community.”

Troutman said 24 Degree of Color gets its name from the average temperature of ice at an indoor rink, the program’s commitment to diversity 24 hours a day, and the hues of the people it serves.

“This isn’t just about Black and brown kids, it just happens to be predominantly brown kids,” she said. “We have kids that identify all across the spectrum of ethnicities and look all types of ways.”

The program has partnerships with the Kings and the two rinks in which they operate. Troutman was among 13 inaugural inductees to the Hockeywood Wall of Fame, a multimedia display at the Toyota Performance Center, during the 2024-25 season for promoting diversity in hockey.

“It was overwhelming,” she said. “Being a social impact leader, it can be a thankless job sometime. What I appreciate is that it’s note. My community and my partners support me and willingly serve alongside me and want to celebrate the work we get to do together. I know that I was inducted, but I felt like we were all inducted. It really does take a village. I’m not doing this by myself.”  

She said the program has accomplished much, including adding inline and street hockey components. But there’s still more to do.

Troutman said she’s trying to find a way, and funding, to help more of the program’s skilled players transition from house leagues to travel hockey teams, which can be expensive for families.

“I have 17 kids playing travel hockey that I cannot financially support, which is heartbreaking, and probably another 27 kids who are capable of playing travel hockey and should be,” she said. “It’s another barrier to break.”