From Pucks to Professor

When Robb Utendale remembers his dad, John, he says he thinks about potluck dinners at their Bellingham family home equally as much as watching his father be part of the 1980 "Miracle" men's Olympic hockey that upset Russia and won gold medal at Lake Placid Winter Games. John served as assistant training coach for that historic squad, becoming the first Black staff member on the national men's hockey team coaching staff.
"I was 15 years old in 1980," says Robb Utendale by phone from Buenos Aires. "I knew [the gold medal Olympiad] was a huge accomplishment. But primarily he was just my dad. I remember him most as a professor.

"Education was his biggest passion when I was growing up. He was definitely encouraging about my studies and really involved with his graduate students [at Western Washington University in Bellingham]."
That's where those potluck dinners enter the story of John Utendale, the first-ever Black player signed to an NHL contract who will be honored post-mortem at the Kraken's upcoming Feb. 24 home as part of the team's celebration of Black History Month presented by Alaska Airlines. His wife, Mickey, will be on hand to celebrate the night.
"My dad used to say there is nothing greater than a good education," says Robb Utendale. "Beyond that he was fully engaged in establishing racial tolerance and taking on diversity issues. WWU was 99 percent white students at the time. Through his leadership, the university brought in much more diverse non-white student population.
"I always remember those potlucks being really fun, casual, but fun. Lots of laughing and joking, always at our house, in the summertime on our back deck and always ribs on the barbecue."

John Utendale was a relationship builder and community builder. He used his hockey know-how to grow the sport while also applying lessons of teamwork and resilience to his lessons for college students.
But first Utendale was a superior hockey forward who played his favorite sport on youth teams at outdoor rinks in Edmonton, joining the elite junior club Edmonton Oil Kings as an 18-year-old for the 1954-55. Utendale caught the attention of the Detroit Red Wings in 1955, three years before Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's Black color barrier in 1958 with the Boston Bruins.
Utendale attended training camps with Detroit but never appeared for the Red Wings. He logged time with Detroit minor-league affiliate Edmonton Flyers. O'Ree has frequently said Utendale, Herb Carnegie, Art Dorrington or Stan Maxwell could all have skated as the NHL's first Black player given other circumstances.
"You have to remember in that era, the NHL only had the 'Original Six' teams [adding up to 120 total skaters]," says Brad Lyons, senior manager of communications and historian for Hockey Alberta. "You had to be very good to even get on the radar of an NHL team, let alone signing a contract. By all accounts, John was an exceptional hockey player."
Utendale played several more years of hockey, including games with the Quebec Aces during the 1958-59 when he played on "The Black Line" alongside O'Ree and Maxwell.
In 1959, Utendale moved back west and married Maryan "Mickey" Maddison Leonard, who will be a guest of honor at the Feb 24 game. Two years later, Utendale earned a teaching certificate from the University of British Columbia, then in 1963 completed an undergraduate degree in education from the University of Alberta.

His first job in education was with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, established in 1963, as the school's first director of physical education and, later, head coach of the NAIT men's hockey team. He appeared for various hockey teams through 1969 before hanging up the skates as a player to pursue a master's degree at Eastern Washington State College (now Eastern Washington University).
With those credentials, Utendale was hired as academic coordinator for the athletic department at Washington State, a lecturer in the Black Studies department and a member of the Washington State Human Right Commission while earning a doctorate in education.
All of Utendale's academic prowess earned him the opportunity to become the first Black faculty member of the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University. For 25 years, headed WWU's master's degree program in student personnel administration. He was nationally recognized for his work increasing the minority student population and earned tenure.
"John was an inspiration to everybody, especially students who didn't typically see someone [on the faculty] who looks like them," says Tim Douglas, a former WWU colleague and later Bellingham mayor for 12 years who bought tickets to the Feb. 24 Kraken game as soon as he heard "John was being honored-I wouldn't miss it."
"He was dedicated to working with young leaders from diverse backgrounds to help them find their strengths, lots of 1-on-1 sessions."
One example of Utendale's influence: He would show students how as leaders they can actively collaborate and cooperate with their group or organization but "still find a way to move them forward." It likely helped that those Utendale potlucks allowed the professor to connect with his pupils in other ways.
"John had a terrific sense of humor," says Douglas. "He was fun to be around. He came with serious intent about education and diversity, but he enjoyed people too. He individually connected with you. It created an esprit de corps."
Douglas was mayor when Utendale and his Finnish friend worked to have the city's first ice rink built out near the airport, later begetting a second ice arena in town that served both hockey and indoor soccer.
What's more, Utendale helped found the Bellingham Area Minor Hockey Association and a city juniors team (which he coached and for which NHLers such as Vancouver's Stan Smyl and Edmonton's Glenn Anderson played), coached the WWU men's club team and served as the Western regional director for the national Amateur Hockey Association.
"I remember he went to the [WWU] football coach to ask for old jerseys we could wear in our first year," said John Herda, who played for Utendale at WWU and on youth teams. "It was an effort for him just to find teams we could play. We played the Burnaby (B.C.) fire department and the Seattle Ironmen.
Like many kids then and since, Herda started playing hockey as a 10-year-old because a new rink was built. The Bellingham hockey community is a lasting legacy for Utendale.
"John didn't have a sharp tongue," says Herda. "He was a players' coach and we paid close attention to what he wanted from the team. When he told us to do something, we would go for it.
"I will tell you this: He would've enjoyed the festivities coming up Feb. 24."