William Douglas has been writing “The Colour of Hockey” blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 to write about people of colour in sports. Today, he brings you the story of Hockey Equality's Black Hockey Summit, which took place last week at Scotiabank Pond in Toronto.
Toronto — Trey Caracciolo said it was refreshing not to feel like a unicorn at the Black Hockey Summit.
“I feel like throughout my career, I've been one of the one or two guys on every team I've been on,” said Caracciolo, a 17-year-old goaltender who played last season with Kitchener-Waterloo of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“It's good to see people that look like you on the ice. It's good to look around and see everybody.”
Caracciolo was one of approximately 500 players who attended Hockey Equality's second annual Black Hockey Summit, a week-long event that brought together a multicultural, multi-ethnic mix of male and female players, from youth to elite, from across Canada and the United States.
They enjoyed fast-paced on-ice skills sessions run by volunteer coaches at Scotiabank Pond outside Toronto, played ball hockey on a field behind the four-sheet rink, worked out and listened to discussions about pathways and opportunities in on-ice hockey and beyond.
The Summit's goal is to make hockey more inclusive and welcoming by developing high-caliber players and building a community and support network for them and their families.
That week, players met with Tennessee State coach Duante Abercrombie to outline his vision for establishing the first hockey program at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), which would be on the ice in 2025-2026.
“This is going to be our way of playing hockey. It's never been done like this before,” he said during a presentation to players. “We want music on the ice during practice. We want to have DJs at games. We have bands… You need to see it and experience it our way.”
