NHL Lags Behind in Recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Another MLK Day has come and gone in the NHL. Not that the league has really stopped to take notice.

A federal holiday south of the border, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a celebration of one of history’s preeminent activists in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, who embodied the non-violent abolishment of racial segregation and discrimination.

“I think, as a person of colour, Martin Luther King Jr. is obviously someone who’s paved so many roads for Black people in North America, really,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “To see the impact that he had, obviously, just south of us, you look back at the history and it’s something to be celebrated as a people.”

Falling on the third Monday in January, in close correspondence with King’s birthday of Jan. 15, 1929, the date is recognized in some Canadian cities, including Toronto and Ottawa.

But when it comes to the NHL as a whole, there doesn’t seem to be more than a token mention of MLK Day on either side of the border. Not like in the Canadian Football League, where the Diversity is Strength slogan spearheads efforts to break down social barriers.

And certainly not in comparison to the NBA, which has a decades-long tradition of scheduling annual games, including in Atlanta, Ga., where King was born, and in Memphis, Tenn., where he was assassinated in 1968.

But his dream continues to live on to this day.

Just not so much in the NHL, which seems to still be asleep when it comes to not only recognizing such an important figure in shaping North American society, but also its own players of African-American descent.

Let’s face it, the league is very vanilla in its cultural flavouring. But perhaps it has been its own worst enemy for not doing enough to promote the notion of diversity in the eyes of the next generation of would-be players across all different backgrounds.

“No, I don’t think so,” Oilers forward Evander Kane said. “I think there have been some positive steps in recognizing Black history in our league, but today’s another great example to do something and recognize a leader like himself in our community.

“And as a league, as a sport, we’re trying to grow the game and see different skin colours putting on the pads. A guy like Martin Luther King Jr. has made that possible for the very few that have done that.”

As small a group as those who have come before may be, the trail they blazed into pro hockey was integral to launching some current careers.

“For me, representation was a huge thing,” said Nurse, who hails from Hamilton, Ont. “To look up and see a guy like Jarome Iginla, who was one of my favourite players growing up and one of the first examples of someone that looks like myself could play in the NHL.

“Guys like Georges Laroque. Ray Emery was from just outside Hamilton, as a Black player coming up, he was someone I looked up to. Trevor Daley, there are so many great examples of players that have played in the NHL, people of colour. They give you hope for better representation.”

St. Albert’s own Iginla also topped Kane’s list.

“One of my favourite players, I had probably a handful of them growing up, was Jarome Iginla,” said Kane, who is from Vancouver. “He was a guy that I really enjoyed watching, his style of play, first and foremost, his goal-scoring ability, and him being a half-Black player, like myself, obviously was cool to see.

“So, I think that’s a big part of growing the game, is Black kids, specifically, seeing guys that look like them. It’s great to see other guys who are not, but truly growing the game, you’ve got to. And as a kid, I know that did a lot for me, being able to see a guy like Jarome.

“And I know it does for other kids. Just touring in the summer and speaking with different communities, groups and organizations, I know it does a lot when kids see players that look like themselves.”

To its credit, the NHL picks up its hockey socks when it comes to Black History Month, with teams dedicating February to remembering pioneers in the sport, developing scholarships for minorities and recognizing community leaders with ceremonial puck drops.

“We have, obviously, Black History Month coming up here,” Nurse said, adding one leads into the other. “I think it’s a day we definitely have to celebrate. For sure, something that’s very prevalent in the United States and a day marking a man of such significance for Black people.

“But with that said, we’ve had our own issues here north of the border that people have had to endure. And also, people have been trailblazers and opened up and created more opportunity for people like myself and Evander, when you look around the room and within the organization.

“So, it’s a day to be celebrated, for sure.”