Black players in ice hockey

Over the decades, both men's and women's ice hockey have gradually seen an increase in the number of Black players, and the number of historic firsts has grown. However, Black people continue to be underrepresented in ice hockey among players and staff. Black people have traditionally faced racism across leagues in the United States and Canada. Efforts to combat racism within the sport and grow ice hockey among Black players have taken the form of player protests, formal organizations, and league initiatives.

Men's ice hockey

Late 19th century and early 20th century

The Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes began in 1895, as an initiative of black Baptist churches in Nova Scotia. The aim was to increase and retain male membership. The league consisted of teams from Halifax, Africville, Hammond's Plains, Dartmouth, Truro, Amherst, and Charlottetown, P.E.I. All games were on an invitational basis with the trophy still residing in a private home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Historically, they were the first league to allow the goaltender to drop to the ice to stop the puck. The league operated for several decades lasting until 1930.

Ontario is geographically large, and it was impossible in the early 20th century to organize an all-black league like in Nova Scotia. Some of the early black players in Ontario ice hockey history included Hipple Galloway and Fred Kelly. Galloway played as a member of the Woodstock team in the Central Ontario Hockey Association in 1899. In 1916, Fred (Bud) Kelly of London played for the 118 Battalion team of the Ontario Hockey League. Kelly was scouted by the Toronto St. Pats but was never officially contacted. One of the first all-black teams in Ontario was the Orioles. The team was from St. Catharines and played in the Niagara District Hockey League during the 1930s.

1930s to 50s

Herb Carnegie's career began in 1938 with the Toronto Young Rangers and continued in the early 1940s with the Buffalo Ankerites, a team in a mines league that played in mining towns in northern Ontario and Quebec. While with the Ankerites, Carnegie was part of the Black Aces line. The other line members consisted of his brother, Ossie Carnegie, and Manny McIntyre, originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick. (Herb was at center, Ossie was right wing, and McIntyre was the left wing.) They were recognized as much for their talent and skill as their skin color. In the semi-professional Quebec Provincial League, Herb was named most valuable player in 1946, 1947, and 1948.

In 1948, Carnegie was given a tryout with the New York Rangers and offered a contract to play in the Rangers' minor league system. However, he was offered less money than he was earning in the Quebec league and turned down all three offers made by the Rangers organization during his tryout.

In August 1950, Canadian centre Art Dorrington became the first Black player to sign an NHL contract (though not with an NHL team directly), signing with a minor league team affiliated with the New York Rangers organization. However, Dorrington only played with minor league teams, including the Atlantic City Seagulls, the New Haven Tomahawks, and the Washington Lions, and was never called up to play a game with the Rangers. Dorrington played professional hockey from 1949–1958.

In 1955, John Utendale became the first Black player to sign a contract directly with an NHL team, the Detroit Red Wings. Utendale practiced with the Red Wings but never played in an NHL game; instead he played with the Red Wings' minor league affiliate, the Edmonton Flyers. During the 1958–59 season, Utendale played with the Quebec Aces with fellow Black players Willie O'Ree and Stan Maxwell on "The Black Line"; O'Ree would go on to be the first Black player to actually play in an NHL game. In 2006, Utendale's brother claimed that Jack Adams, the Red Wings' coach and general manager at the time, refused to give Utendale any playing time because Adams objected to his relationship with a white woman whom Utendale later married.

Willie O'Ree is referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of ice hockey" (and twice met Robinson personally, in O'Ree's own younger years) as the first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was called up to the Boston Bruins of the NHL to replace an injured player. He made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 18 of the 1957–58 NHL season, against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black player in league history. O'Ree is still heavily involved with the NHL, in promoting the league's Diversity Program all over North America with amateur youth and adult ice hockey players.

1960s to 80s

Alton White was active from 1965 through 1975 in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He played for the New York Raiders, Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags, and Baltimore Blades. White is best known for being the second player of African descent, after Willie O'Ree, to have played on a professional major league ice hockey team. In addition, White is the first player of African descent to score 20 goals in a single season. He did this for the Los Angeles Sharks during the 1972–73 season. During the same 1972–73 season, he became the first black player in history to score a hat trick in a major league professional game.

Mike Marson was active from 1974 to 1981 as a Black Canadian left winger. He was drafted in the second round, 19th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1974 NHL entry draft, making him the first black player to be drafted in an NHL entry draft (first introduced in 1963). He became the second Black Canadian to play in the NHL. He played five seasons in the NHL for the Washington Capitals and the Los Angeles Kings. While playing for the Capitals, Marson and Bill Riley (the third black player in the NHL) became the first two black players to play in an NHL game together.

Tony McKegney is a Black Canadian who was active from 1978 to 1991. He was adopted and raised by a white family in Sarnia, Ontario. At age twenty, Tony McKegney signed a contract with the WHA's Birmingham Bulls, only to see the owner illegally renege on the deal after fans threatened to boycott the team for having added a black player to its roster. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 32nd overall in 1979. He played in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Quebec Nordiques, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks from 1979 to 1991. He was the first black player to score 40 goals in a season during the 1987–88 season. He played 912 regular season games, scoring 320 career goals with 319 assists. His total of 78 points in the same season was the highest recorded by a black player until Jarome Iginla broke the record in 2001–02.

Val James was active from 1978 to 1988 as an African American defenceman. He was the first American-born African American to play in the NHL, debuting with the Buffalo Sabres during the 1981–82 season. However, James was not the first African American player to be trained exclusively in the United States, as he played in the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League.

1980s to 1990s

Dirk Graham was active from 1979 to 1995 as a black Canadian right winger. He was the first black player to be named team captain, captaining the Chicago Blackhawks from 1989 to 1995. Graham was also the first black player to be awarded Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward in 1990–91 as well as the first black head coach, coaching the Blackhawks during the 1998–99 season.

Grant Fuhr was active from 1981 to 2000 as a Black Canadian goaltender. Making his NHL debut in the 1981–82 season, he was the first black goaltender in the NHL and later became the first black player to win the Stanley Cup in 1984. Shortly after his retirement, in 2003, he became the first black player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Claude Vilgrain was active from 1988 to 2002 as a Haitian-born Canadian player. He played 89 NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. He played in the 1988 Olympics for Team Canada. He was raised in Quebec City, Quebec.

1990s to 2020s

Anson Carter was active from 1996 to 2008. On May 11, 2003, he scored on Mikael Tellqvist of Sweden men's national team to lead Canada men's national team to the gold medal at the 2003 IIHF World Championship.

Mike Grier was active from 1996 to 2011 as an African American right winger. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he became the first African American player born and trained in the United States to play in the NHL, after making his NHL debut during the 1996–97 season. He later became the first black general manager in the NHL, after being hired by the San Jose Sharks before the 2022–23 season.

Jarome Iginla was active from 1996 to 2017 as a black Canadian right winger. He is the Calgary Flames' all-time leader in goals, points, and games played. Iginla is the first black NHL player to win the Art Ross Trophy (leading point scorer) and the first to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (leading goal scorer), both in 2002. As a member of the Canadian men's national team in the 2002 Winter Olympics, he became the first black man to win any gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

Johnny Oduya was active from 1999 to 2018. He is an African Swedish defenceman, whose father was a Luo from Kenya. He became the first European-trained player of African descent to play in the NHL, after making his NHL debut during the 2006–07 season.

Wayne Simmonds was active from 2008 to 2023 as a black Canadian right winger. He was the first black player to be awarded the NHL All-Star Game MVP in 2017.

P. K. Subban was active from 2009 to 2022 as a Black Canadian defenceman. His father immigrated to Canada from Jamaica. He was the first black player to win the award for the NHL's best defenceman, the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2013.

Anti-Black racial incidents in the NHL

Black players in the National Hockey League (NHL) have faced racism and discrimination throughout their careers from the league and fans. They continue to face racism today. The NHL has taken various approaches to address this problem.

Current players

In the 2025–26 NHL season, there were between 23 and 26 active black players in the NHL.

Darnell Nurse is a Canadian professional defenceman for the NHL. Nurse was selected by the Edmonton Oilers seventh overall in the 2013 NHL entry draft. He played for the Oilers until he was traded to the San Jose Sharks in 2026. Internationally, he won gold with the Canada junior team at the 2015 World Junior Championships and was named one of Canada's top three players, as well as the player of the match for the gold medal game against Russia. He won silver with Team Canada in the 2019 World Championship. Nurse has competed with Team Canada several other times.

Jet Greaves is a goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He made his NHL debut on April 4, 2023, as an undrafted player and set the record for most saves by a Columbus goaltender in their debut match. His 46 save performance was the fifth most in an NHL debut since the 1955–56 NHL season. Greaves was named to Team Canada for the 2026 World Championship, where he played with Nurse. Out of eight total games for Canada, he was the goaltender for six, one of which was a shutout. He had a 1.88 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.

Quinton Byfield set a record for being the highest-ever selected black player in the NHL entry draft when he was picked by the Los Angeles Kings at second overall in the 2020 NHL entry draft. The Kings signed Byfield to a three-year, entry-level contract on October 16, 2020. He was assigned to the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) roster to begin the 2020–21 season where he played on a line with Akil Thomas and Devante Smith-Pelly. His line became the first all-Black line in professional ice hockey since Herb Carnegie, Ossie Carnegie, and Manny McIntyre in the 1940s. During their first game together, Thomas recorded a natural hat-trick and his line combined for six points in the eventual win. On April 28, 2021, Byfield made his NHL debut in a 3–2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.