A New Showcase
"They asked me to come on board and visit some cities. Since they wanted to pay tribute to me for breaking the color barrier, they suggested a weekend of hockey where they would fly in kids and have an all-star game in my honor."
Founded in 1996 in Boston, the annual Willie O'Ree All-Star Game each year brings together Diversity Program youngsters from around the country. It gives them an opportunity to play in an NHL arena, see an NHL game and meet both professional players and other talented kids.
Meeting Jackie
Coleman played in the 1997 game at the United Center in Chicago where he first met O'Ree.
"Playing in the O'Ree game gave me a chance to meet kids who were in the same (economic) situation as I was," said Coleman. "It also showed me what the NHL is like and pushed me to become the first one to break through. It gave me motivation and taught me a lot."
Coleman is a classic example of the type of youngster O'Ree tries to reach during his 50-odd yearly speaking appearances at schools around the country.
"If you don't have an education you can't go anywhere in this world," said O'Ree. "If you chose a sport for a career one day you're going to retire. There's no substitute for hard work."
It wasn't until two years ago that Coleman met O'Ree again.
"He said 'Mr. O'Ree, you might not remember me but I took to heart what you said about setting goals for yourself,'" said O'Ree. "Everybody wanted him to be a basketball player but he wanted to be a goalie.
"I congratulated him. He's a role model not only for black kids but for anybody who wants to set a goal for himself."
Padding the Bottom Line
Nobility of diversification aside, the NHL’s Diversity Program is good business. Minority audiences, particularly the growing number of Hispanics, are a significant growth market for hockey fans that largely remains flat. Building fan base gives hockey incentive to open the doors of the sport to aspiring minority players more now than ever before.
O’Ree broke the color line. Gerald is hoped to be the first of many players to walk through that open door, change the lives of thousands of kids, and improve hockey’s drawing power with minorities.
It’s a lot of weight on those goalie shoulder pads that Coleman hopes to carry.
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