[ad_1]
But over the years, O & # 39; Ree was hired by the NHL as Director of Youth Development and NHL Diversity Ambassador in January 1998, which left him wandering. He would wonder if this could really be possible for him to be included.
It came on Tuesday, when the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame class was announced. O 'Ree will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the Builder category with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on November 12th.
[RELATED:[RELATED:[ENRELATION:[RELATED:O 'Ree inspires Simmonds as a pioneer, hockey ambassador | Brodeur, Oe Ree, Bettman tops the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame]
He was overwhelmed, having spent the morning pacing and waiting, pacing and waiting.
"When John Davidson and Lanny McDonald telephoned me this morning, I was delighted," said O & # 39; Ree about the selection committee chair and the president of the Hockey Hall of Fame . "I cried in one part of me and I laugh in another part, what a great honor, I can not explain how I felt at that time that I received the call. "
A few hours later, while he was on the phone with NHL.com, O. Ree said that he had felt the new install, digesting the fact that he would join hockey greats, and that his work as a pioneer and as a symbol of inclusion would be honored. He only regretted that his parents were not alive to see him arrive.
But this was the only culmination of a day of excitement, happiness and joy, a day when hockey was able to celebrate O & # 39; Ree for the changes that he brought to the game. and the progress he has made and the ones that would never have played. for him.
"There are a few that we can really say," He changed the game. "Willie O'Neill is one of those few, Bettman said in a statement.
Video: O & # 39; Ree to be inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame
This change is there every night in the NHL.
"If it was not for Mr. O. Ree, I would not be in the League today, you would not have all these other ethnic groups in the match today. hui, "said Philadelphia Flyers. Wayne Simmondswho is black. "The League would be all white.
"It makes you feel that this game is ubiquitous, it allows people to think that it's something that they want to do, and more and more kids will start trying to play the game." play and get to the NHL. change the makeup of the NHL, I think it's a beautiful thing. "
It's a story that began 70 years ago, when O. Ree grew up in Fredricton, New Brunswick, as a passionate hockey kid. He began to dream of playing professionally, even the NHL, at 14, after coaches told him that he might have the talent, if not the complexion.
Because, as they told him, there had never been a black player in the NHL.
He would not have any, until he was there.
Video: Discuss Willie O 'Ree Entering the HHOF
He broke the barrier on January 18, 1958, when the Boston Bruins called him for a home game against the Montreal Canadiens, starting with a match at the Montreal Forum. But even O 'Ree did not realize how important this game was, that it was doing something that not a player had done before.
He read his exploit in the newspaper the next day.
But it was not just this game, or the 44 in the NHL that followed him, that led him to be elected to the Hall of Fame. That comes from the hundreds and thousands of kids he's touched since he's finally removed the skates for the last time after 21 years of professional playing, in 39 local grassroots hockey programs that he helped to establish.
Because even now, at 82, Oe Ree saves airline miles and nights in hotel rooms that make a much younger man wither. Seemingly inexhaustible and everlastingly joyful, O'Re's address to children of all stripes at the country's rinks, bringing his message of diversity and inclusion and pride to a generation far beyond those who have seen the barriers broken by him and, in Major League Baseball, by Jackie Robinson.
"Willie is a pioneer and a great ambassador for hockey," Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement. "The courage that he demonstrated 60 years ago when he broke the league's color barrier by wearing a Bruin sweater is a source of inspiration, and his work continues to make grow hockey and get the message that hockey is for everyone.
Video: 1958: Willie O & # 39; Ree is the NHL's first black player
It was a message – and an honor – that resonated particularly for black NHL players today and for other black athletes, many of whom have congratulated O & # 39; Ree through the social media.
"I can not explain how happy I am to hear that," Nashville Predators defender P.K. Subban said in a video message posted on Twitter. "When I think back to my career and all of my accomplishments, think that none of this would be possible without the sacrifices that Willie O 'Ree has made and many, many others before me … Without you Willie, none of this is possible, so congratulations. "
Donovan Bailey, a sprinter who won a gold medal for Canada at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, tweeted, "I'm delighted to see Willie O. Ree on this subject. [Hall of Fame] listing. It is a reason why many of us have had the opportunity to participate and excel in the sport. "
They looked at what it meant for their own career, at their own possibilities, and they looked at what it meant for younger children than them. For the next generation, future generations who, if O & # 39; Ree gets its way, will continue to expand the diversity of the NHL.
"For me, it's a joy to see him enter the Hockey Hall of Fame," Simmonds said. "He has done so much for the sport, whether it is to help children, black children, children of all ethnicities, realize their dreams, it's a good thing for our sport.
"Willie travels the country year-round, every year he is so selfless, he feels like home, he gives his life to the NHL, and the Hockey Hall of Fame recognizes the work that he does." he has accomplished. right."
O & # 39; Ree will answer all the questions that will be asked, on any subject, and it will light up as he does, giving personal attention to young and old, to hockey players in black and white and to those who can not skate. He loves telling his story, his experience, likes when players love hockey, and accepts it when they do not, making sure to tell them to find what they like.
It's something that Simmonds sees every time he meets Ore Ree, joy, as O & # 39; Ree gets to do something that he calls "my second calling".
"I think being inducted into the Hall of Fame opens the door to thousands of kids, colorful kids, white kids, brown kids and green kids," O & O said. # 39; Ree. "It gives them the opportunity to play this sport if they want it, we just open the doors and say," Here you can play a sport where you've never had the chance to play. opportunity to play before.
It is this idea that resonates with Simmonds, the idea that O & # 39; Ree has made his life, his career possible. Just as he made it possible for so many others.
"Willie has paved the way for the rest of us," said Hall of Fame spokesman Grant Fuhr in a statement. "That way, he's a real builder of the game. If you look at the word" constructor ", there should be a picture of Willie, who is Jackie Robinson of hockey."
[ad_2]
Source link
