Color of Hockey: Paris humbled by having hometown rink named after him

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles John Paris Jr., who had a rink renamed in his honor in his hometown of Windsor, Nova Scotia, in June. Paris became the first Black coach to win a professional hockey title when Atlanta of the International Hockey League won the Turner Cup in 1994.

John Paris Jr. was proud to have his name etched on the Turner Cup as the first Black coach to win a professional hockey championship at any level.

The 76-year-old Windsor, Nova Scotia, native who guided Atlanta to the International Hockey League title in 1994, said he was humbled when his hometown of Windsor, Nova Scotia, renamed a local rink the John Paris Jr. Rink in June.

"It hit me, it was joy, it was chilling, a very difficult feeling to explain," he said. "But I had thought right away about my dad, my parents and other people, wondering if they were looking down and seeing this."

If they were, they saw a ceremony full of pomp and circumstance and a rink filled with well-wishers and family who gathered to pay tribute to a hometown hero who overcame physical and societal obstacles to become a groundbreaking player, coach and general manager at various levels of the sport.

"There's nothing that can replace being recognized by your hometown," Paris said. "These are the people that know you, who you've grown up with. But you never realized that they were following what you were doing."

Abraham Zebian was among the followers. The Windsor and West Hants municipality mayor knew the Paris family, but wasn't fully familiar with John Paris Jr's hockey trajectory. He started doing research after Hockey Nova Scotia mounted a change.org petition drive in February to get Paris inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"I started reading about him and I'm like, 'Wow, this is an individual who epitomizes the story of inspiration and overcoming every obstacle and every barrier and succeeding at it,'" Zebian said. "Not only succeeding at it, he did it in such a humble way. He's gentle and mild-mannered but influential and powerful at the same time."

Paris developed into such a hockey talent as a teenager that a young scout named Scotty Bowman -- who became the winningest coach in NHL history and won the Stanley Cup nine times -- visited his family in 1963. Paris tried out for the Junior Canadiens, sharing the ice at the Montreal Forum with future NHL players like Jacques Lemaire, Carol Vadnais, Serge Savard and Andre Lacroix.

Battles with Hodgkin's lymphoma and ulcerative colitis derailed Paris' playing career in 1970. Once his health improved, the former player nicknamed "The Chocolate Rocket" began coaching youth hockey. He became the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's first Black coach with Trois Rivieres in 1987-88.

Paris was coach and general manager of St. Jean of the QMJHL in 1993-94 when Atlanta came calling. The team originally hired him in February 1994 to coach the group's roller hockey team, but he ended up replacing Gene Ubriaco as the hockey team's coach midseason.

Paris moved on to coach Macon of the Central Hockey League from 1996-99. Mayor Zebian introduced a resolution to the West Hants council on April 26 to rename the rink at the West Hants Sports Complex after Paris.

"We don't agree as a council on most things unanimously, but this was just one of those items that was a no-brainer, 100 percent 'yes'," the mayor said.

Dean Smith, a Hockey Nova Scotia board member and the 2023 Canadian recipient of the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award, said the council's vote was impactful to the province and beyond.

"John Paris Jr. has had a significant career in the game, not only as a player but more significantly as a coach having coached for multiple decades and in multiple leagues," Smith said. "Having won numerous championships, I think his contribution to the game is quite clear and obvious. It's amazing that West Hants decided to recognize him in that way, for sure."

Paris became the latest Black person affiliated with hockey to have a North American ice rink named after them.

Philadelphia officials in 1999 renamed a local rink the Laura Sims Skate House in Cobbs Creek Park. Sims was a community activist who almost single-handedly persuaded the city government to build the rink in a predominantly Black section of West Philadelphia in 1985. Today, the rink is one of the homes of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, an affiliate of the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone initiative.

The North York Centennial Centre in Toronto was renamed the Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre in 2001 for the late forward, inventor and philanthropist who many considered the best Black player who never played in the NHL. Carnegie, who died on March 9, 2012, was posthumously enshrined in the Hall of Fame in November 2022.

Fredericton, New Brunswick, dedicated Willie O'Ree Place in January 2008. It's a state-of-the-art twin rink facility named after the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who became the NHL's first Black player when he debuted with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 18, 1958, at the Montreal Forum.

The Flemingdon Arena in Toronto was rededicated as the Angela James Arena in June 2009, named after the Hall of Fame 2010 inductee who was called the "Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey."

Since 2012, Atlantic City's majestic Boardwalk Hall becomes the Art Dorrington Ice Rink whenever it hosts ice events in honor of the first Black player to sign an NHL contract.

Dorrington, a Nova Scotia native who died on Dec. 29, 2017, signed with the New York Rangers in 1950. He played minor league hockey in Atlantic City, Philadelphia and Johnstown and never reached the NHL. He founded the Art Dorrington Ice Hockey Foundation, a non-profit program for Atlantic City's low-income youth, in 1998.

The Grant Fuhr Arena is a 2,000-seat multipurpose facility in Spruce Grove, Alberta, named after the Hockey Hall of Fame goalie who won the Stanley Cup five times with the Edmonton Oilers (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990) and played 868 NHL regular-season games and 150 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames from 1981-2000.

The former Akinsdale Arena in St. Albert, Alberta, was renamed the Jarome Iginla Arena on Aug. 25, 2019. The 2020 Hall of Famer and two-time Olympic gold medalist (Salt Lake City, 2002, Vancouver, 2010) had 1,300 points (625 goals, 675 assists) in 1,554 NHL regular season games with the Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Kings from 1996-2017.

"They've all achieved things that go beyond the ordinary," Paris said. "I'm very proud to be even considered to have an arena named after me with the stature that they have. That's humbling in itself."

Paris said he now has a responsibility to live up to the John Paris Jr. Rink's name.

"It doesn't just end because someone puts your name on an arena," he said. "I have to continue to educate myself, I have to be available for the diversity programs out there. If any team out there needs any help, regardless of the level, I'm available."

Photos: Mark Davidson, NewTrailsOutthere Photography