Salvador Honored by Prominence on Jersey | PODCAST

The Devils will host a Black History Celebration Monday night against the Vancouver Canucks. Part of that celebration will involve the team wearing a Black History Month-themed warmup jersey for the first time in history, which was created in collaboration with P.K. Subban.
One of the features on the jersey is the image of former Black players and coaches throughout the team's history, including Bryce Salvador, who played six-plus seasons in New Jersey and was only the third Black captain in NHL history.
"It was quite a humbling moment and quite the honor when I was shown the artwork that P.K. has been working on when I was on it and a big focal point of it," Salvador told the Speak of the Devils podcast. "I took a moment of pause and realized I was the third black captain in the National Hockey League behind Dirk Graham and Jarome Iginla.
"You think back and pay homage to guys like Willie O'Ree and what they went through and the doors that they opened, paving the pathway for so many players to come behind him. People coming to me after I was named captain and (telling me) how it affected them for me to be like 'holy cow. Wow.' You reflect back on the heritage of the game."

Part of that is the idea that representation matters. Salvador grew up idolizing Edmonton's Grant Fuhr because the two were both mixed race (and both sported afros). And having those types of players visible in the game helps the next generation of children believe they too can play the game, whether it's Black, Hispanic, LGBTQ+ or women.
"When you have kids look up to me in different communities and resonating with that, it's like 'wow, Bryce is a captain, so I can be a captain,'" said Salvador, who has worked for MSG since 2017. "When you start seeing more and more kids, especially of color, resonating with that fact and bringing that up and looking up to you, then you understand the importance and significance of that."
Here are some other topics Salvador discussed on the podcast…
New Jersey Devils Official Podcast
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Bryce Salvador | Speak of the Devils