Color of Hockey: Etem, Stewart latest members of Black ownership

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog for the past nine years. Douglas joined NHL.com in March 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles former NHL forwards Emerson Etem and Chris Stewart, who have joined a small but growing group of Blacks in hockey ownership at all levels.

For Emerson Etem, owning a hockey team has meant more time on his bicycle.

The 29-year-old former NHL forward said he rides from business to business in Long Beach, California, seeking sponsors for Long Beach of the United States Premier Hockey League, a team he and his wife, Danette, bought in May.

"I'm a really hands-on person where I went door-to-door seeking sponsorships when I was coaching and [general manager] in Missoula (of the North American 3 Hockey League) last season," he said. I'm doing the same thing with this team. At this level, you do it all."

For former NHL forward Chris Stewart, purchasing Minnesota of the NA3HL has meant taking a lot of meetings. Not that the 33-year-old is complaining.

"It's about building relationships, being ambitious and adding things to my resume," he said, "so if anything bigger comes around, I'll definitely be ready."

Etem and Stewart are among the small but growing group of Black people in hockey ownership from junior levels to the NHL. They also are a part of a new generation of Black current and former athletes buying into franchises in various sports, from minor league baseball to professional soccer.

"It's historic," said Richard Lapchick, director of The Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida. "We're seeing more, not a lot, but more Black ownership in the various major league teams, particularly in the NBA in the past year or so.

"So to have Black ownership starting to emerge in the NHL is important. For a league that's not as diverse, like the NHL, to have Black ownership, even at the junior levels, is a really important signal."

Etem and Stewart are part of a Black ownership list that includes David L. Steward, a tech industry giant and one of 13 Black billionaires worldwide, according to Forbes; he has a minority stake in the St. Louis Blues.

Black Entertainment Television co-founder Sheila Johnson and Earl W. Stafford, founder and CEO of the Wentworth Group LLC, a private investment and venture capital firm, are part owners of the Washington Capitals. Entertainers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and film producer James Lassiter are New Jersey Devils limited partners. Former NHL forward Jarome Iginla, who was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in June 2020, co-owns Kamloops of the Western Hockey League with four other former NHL players.

"The more representation within hockey, the better," said Etem, a Long Beach native who was selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the No. 29 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft and scored 46 points (22 goals, 24 assists) in 173 NHL games with the Ducks, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks before retiring in January 2019. "Hockey should be open to everyone with open arms. Me being Black, it's made me stronger, the camaraderie, and everything as a whole that it's done for me and my family. That's not to say it [hasn't] come with its hardships but for the most part it's definitely made a good life for me."

Etem got the ownership bug after being coach and general manager last season for Missoula, a Tier III junior team in the NA3HL.

"I saw how good of a business you could turn it into, how fun it was," said Etem, also the Long Beach coach and GM. "Whether it was bookkeeping, spreadsheets, you name it, everything related to business was really fun."

Stewart's purchase of the NA3HL team in Minnesota in late 2020 added to a hockey portfolio that has kept him busy since he retired as a player in September 2020.

The Philadelphia Flyers hired Stewart as a development coach shortly after his retirement announcement. The 33-year-old Toronto native was named co-coach and hockey ambassador for the Jamaican national team in May. He became a majority owner of the Minnesota Hockey Camps in November 2020, which was co-founded by Herb Brooks, who coached the 'Miracle on Ice' United States team in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics and later coached in the NHL, and Chuck Grillo in 1976.

Stewart said that led to the purchase of an inactive NA3HL membership that became the Minnesota largely because its rink housed Breezy Point, a former franchise in the league.

"Whoever bought them would have majority control of the rink which would jam up our hockey camp," said Stewart, who was selected by the Colorado Avalanche with the No. 18 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft and scored 322 points (160 goals, 162 assists) in 668 NHL games with seven teams from 2008-20. "So we ended up buying the (Minnesota) Loons as well to round up our brand and have full control of the rink."
Stewart said he also bought into the team as a way to give back to hockey.

"For me," he said, "being a guy who was a walk-on to the [Ontario Hockey League] and I didn't really develop until I was 17-18 years old, I think it was important to kind of pay it forward and give guys here a chance in a lower league to help them develop and reach their goals."