O'Ree named to Canada Sports Hall of Fame

Willie O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL, was named as one of 11 members of the Canada Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2020/21 on Wednesday.

O'Ree, who is the NHL Director of Youth Development and ambassador for NHL Diversity, will be among those honored with the Order of Sport, Canada's highest sporting honor, when the induction ceremony is held at a date to be determined in 2021. The ceremony is not taking place in 2020 because of concerns about the coronoavirus.

"I was excited and overwhelmed when I got the initial call," O'Ree said. "Really happy and really proud."

O'Ree made history Jan. 18, 1958 with his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens. He had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 45 games with the Bruins in 1957-58 and 1960-61. O'Ree continued playing in the minor leagues, mostly the Western Hockey League, until 1979.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2018.

"There are a select few about whom it truly can be said: 'He changed the game.' Willie O'Ree is among that select few," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said when O'Ree was announced for the Hockey Hall of Fame. "He did it by stepping onto the ice of the Montreal Forum in a Boston Bruins sweater on Jan. 18, 1958. He has done it just about every day since, inspiring generations of NHL players who followed the path he blazed and working tirelessly to encourage and enable countless boys and girls, who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity, to participate in our game and learn the many life lessons it teaches."

Among those selected to join O'Ree in the Canada Sports Hall of Fame are former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy, former NBA star Steve Nash and former golfer Lorie Kane.