At first glance, the history of hockey in North America may not look very diverse.
Images of the first organized ice hockey game played in Montreal in March 1875, for example, feature teams made up entirely by white men. But the sport鈥檚 oral history paints a very different image.
鈥淰ery few people know about the slaves that came into Canada when they escaped from their owners... those slaves played ice hockey in the early 1800s. And when I tell people that story, they鈥檙e very surprised because they never knew of it,鈥 long-time coach Neal Henderson told CTV National News.
鈥淲here do you think the slap shot came from? Where do you think the butterfly for the goaltender came from? It came from the slaves. They were doing it before anyone else did it.鈥
Henderson has played a pivotal role in the effort to diversify modern hockey, and not just by becoming the first Black man to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
In 1978, Henderson founded the , a developmental program that provides inner-city youth with the opportunity to participate in a sport often out of reach to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The idea came at the urging of his son, who wanted him to teach the game to him and his friends and quickly caught on with the kids in the neighbourhood.
鈥淥ne kid came in, he was looking at us play one night out on the ice and he was so enthused, so I went over and I opened the door and said 鈥榶ou want to play hockey?鈥 He said, 鈥榊eah, but I don't know how to skate.鈥 I said 鈥業'll teach you how to skate,鈥欌 Henderson explained.
鈥淪o, he went home and brought back his mom and she the first thing she said was, 鈥業 don't have any money.鈥 And I said I didn't ask you for money. She said, 鈥業 don't like for him to be out at night by himself.鈥 I said, 鈥業'll bring him home.鈥欌
Henderson developed a love for hockey while living in St. Catharines, Ont., where his father was stationed as a Merchant Marine during the Second World War. But his passion for the game has manifested itself in a greater drive for helping kids learn the importance of sportsmanship on and off the ice.
鈥淲hen they have on hockey equipment, they're the same as everybody else,鈥 he explained.
鈥淚 teach them how to respect the other players, how to go off and talk to a referee. I teach them how to act on the bench. I teach them how to react if they score a goal and what not to do. I teach them that they鈥檙e going to be called names鈥︹
鈥淭hey can call you all the names they want. Keep putting the puck in the net, they'll soon shut up.鈥
Today, the Fort Dupont Hockey Cannons program serves around 50 players ages eight to 18, at no charge.
Henderson and his team often provide the players with second-hand equipment, but participants are required to adhere to strict academic standards鈥攊ncluding regular check-ins with the coach himself.
鈥淐oach Neal is there for a lot of individuals that don't have a father figure in their life,鈥 explained Duante鈥 Abercrombie, a former Dupont player who went on to earn a scouting mentorships with the Boston Bruins.
鈥淎 lot of us grew up without fathers at home, whether they're locked up, whether they're dead, whether street took them, it's just to have someone that's supportive there all the time.鈥
Abercrombie, who says he wouldn鈥檛 be here without Henderson鈥檚 support and compassion, now volunteers as a coach in the program, eager to pass on the lessons of resiliency he learned during his time as a player.
鈥淚've been called every single name under the sun playing this sport... Coach Neal's always saying, they're just words. Line up, put the puck back in the net again, and they're going to continue to talk but that's just because you're great. And they're just trying to stop you from being as great as you can be,鈥 he said.
And in this league, encouraging young Black players to see themselves in the game is the real goal.
鈥淭he care and the compassion that he has first for these children鈥 the care and compassion that he has and for the game鈥 the doors that he's open for other Black and brown boys that may not have been able to see themselves as hockey players that can look to him,鈥 Rashida Prioleau, mother to an 11-year-old Fort Dupont Cannons player, said of Henderson.
鈥淩epresentation matters鈥 So, to come here and to have that representation in the coaches and the other players, I think that that is also a valuable lesson because again, hockey is for everyone.鈥
Coach Henderson鈥檚 work has been widely celebrated by the NHL, most recently when he was in 2019. At the time, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman celebrated Henderson for 鈥渁dvancing the sport in Washington, D.C., and beyond.鈥
The Fort Dupont Hockey Cannons program has also served as a model for programs such as New York's Ice Hockey in Harlem, the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation in Philadelphia and SCORE Boston Hockey, according to USA Hockey.
Henderson has also attracted the attention of two Canadian filmmakers who recently filmed a feature documentary, 鈥淭he Cannons,鈥 following the day-to-day lives of Henderson and his team, and documenting the course of a pivotal hockey season.
The tagline of the documentary reads,
鈥淚f you spend any time with Coach Neal, you realize what an incredible human being he is. And the words that come out of his mouth, the actions that you know, the things that he's done for these kids, you realize that this is much more than just a hockey story,鈥 filmmaker Steven Matthew Hoffner told CTV National News.
鈥淭his team, in many ways, is a salvation for a lot of these families to bring their kids to and, and I felt that along with my co-director, AJ, that this was a story about humanity.鈥
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