With Push on Diversity, N.H.L. Makes Landmark Selection of Black Player
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NY Times Hockey
Quinton Byfield became the highest-drafted Black player in league history just one day before the Hockey Diversity Alliance said it would work independently of the N.H.L. After an N.H.L. season in which players challenged deep-seated issues of racism and the lack of diversity within the sport, the league made history this week when Quinton Byfield became the highest-drafted Black player.
Previously, the highest-drafted Black players had been Evander Kane (2009, Atlanta Thrashers) and Seth Jones (2013, Nashville Predators), each taken fourth over all. It definitely means a lot to me and is something special,” Byfield said in a news conference on draft night Tuesday.
Still, Byfield and Thomas are on track to play in a league that suddenly has several and talented players of color in their 20s.
Moezine Hasham, the executive director and co-founder of Hockey 4 Youth, a grass-roots development program based in Toronto that introduces new Canadians to the sport, said he was optimistic the sport will become more diverse. Hasham is also a member of the league’s recently-formed Youth Inclusion Committee that aims to make hockey more accessible to underrepresented groups.
More players of color are going to get drafted to the N.H.L. and are going to change the culture of the game.”
Previously, the highest-drafted Black players had been Evander Kane (2009, Atlanta Thrashers) and Seth Jones (2013, Nashville Predators), each taken fourth over all. It definitely means a lot to me and is something special,” Byfield said in a news conference on draft night Tuesday.
Still, Byfield and Thomas are on track to play in a league that suddenly has several and talented players of color in their 20s.
Moezine Hasham, the executive director and co-founder of Hockey 4 Youth, a grass-roots development program based in Toronto that introduces new Canadians to the sport, said he was optimistic the sport will become more diverse. Hasham is also a member of the league’s recently-formed Youth Inclusion Committee that aims to make hockey more accessible to underrepresented groups.
More players of color are going to get drafted to the N.H.L. and are going to change the culture of the game.”