Fred Sasakamoose, One of the First Indigenous N.H.L. Players, Dies at 86
N
NY Times Hockey
He played only 11 games in hockey’s top league, but he inspired generations of athletes from Canada’s First Nations. He died after suffering complications of the coronavirus. Fred Sasakamoose began skating on blades his grandfather had tied to his moccasins. His hockey stick was a willow branch.
But his impact was outsized: He was one of the first Indigenous athletes to play Canada’s national pastime at the highest level.
When he was 6, agents from the Canadian government came to the reservation and threw him and his brother Frank into a truck.
Sasakamoose, a center, was nimble on the ice, but he failed to score in the N.H.L. and spent the rest of his career in the minor leagues.
Full of ambition and energy, yet with the wisdom to know what a rare and wonderful experience it was to have played at all.”
But his impact was outsized: He was one of the first Indigenous athletes to play Canada’s national pastime at the highest level.
When he was 6, agents from the Canadian government came to the reservation and threw him and his brother Frank into a truck.
Sasakamoose, a center, was nimble on the ice, but he failed to score in the N.H.L. and spent the rest of his career in the minor leagues.
Full of ambition and energy, yet with the wisdom to know what a rare and wonderful experience it was to have played at all.”