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 the United By Hockey Mobile History Museum that will tour all 32 NHL markets and make its debut Feb. 2-4 at 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in South Florida.
Color of Hockey: Mobile History Museum rolling into NHL All-Star Weekend
Exhibit highlighting diversity, inclusion in game to also visit all 32 League markets
The NHL's traveling history museum hits the road again in 2023, bigger and more diverse than ever.
The United By Hockey Mobile History Museum makes its debut at 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in South Florida at the Truly Hard Seltzer All-Star Beach Festival in Fort Lauderdale Park from Feb. 2-4.
A partnership between the NHL, Hockey Hall of Fame and AXLMOBILE, the 840-square-foot museum highlights diversity and inclusion within hockey on the ice, in the front office and corporate suites and behind the microphone.
RELATED: [2023 NHL All-Star Game coverage]
The All-Star Weekend is the museum's first stop on a tour of all 32 NHL markets between February and June 2023, including the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Feb. 18.
The United By Hockey museum is a legacy of the
NHL Black Hockey History Tour
, the mobile museum that crisscrossed the United States and Canada in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
"Each year we challenge ourselves to continue creating new opportunities to celebrate diversity within our game," said Jeff Scott, NHL Vice President, Community Development & Growth. "Our re-envisioned, professionally curated United by Hockey Mobile Museum showcases many of the individuals who blazed new trails and those who continue to influence our game, our business and commitment to ensuring that Hockey Is For Everyone."
The museum features artifacts from diverse players and video components. There's an interactive broadcast booth where fans can test their broadcasting skills and knowledge against Kevin Weekes, an NHL Network and ESPN hockey analyst and former NHL goalie.
The artifacts include shin and elbow pads that belonged to Willie O'Ree, a 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 at the Montreal Forum on Jan. 18, 1958; a 1996 World Championship Canada jersey worn by Paul Kariya, a 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who was one of the NHL's first stars of Asian heritage; a helmet worn by Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ethan Bear, who was raised in the Ochapowace Nation near Whitewood, Saskatchewan, when he played for Seattle of the Western Hockey League; and a helmet worn by Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, who is Mexican American, in the 2018 NHL All-Star Game.
Artifacts recognizing the contributions of women include a stick from Jessica Koizumi when played for the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League (now called the Premier Hockey Federation) and a 2010 jersey worn by Julie Chu when she played for the Minnesota Whitecaps from the old Western Women's Hockey League.
Koizumi, now an associate head coach for the University of Vermont's NCAA Division I women's hockey team, scored the first goal in NWHL/PHF history in October 2015 against the New York Riveters.
Chu, head coach for Concordia University's women's team in Montreal, played for the U.S. in four Winter Olympics (2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turin, 2010 Vancouver, 2014 Sochi). She carried the U.S. flag in the closing ceremony of the Sochi Games.
A giant photo of Sarah Nurse, who helped power Canada's women's team to the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, graces the exterior of the museum.
Nurse, who is the cousin of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, will be one of five women's hockey players participating in the 2023 NHL All-Star skills competition at FLA Live Arena on Feb. 3.
She joins Team Canada's Emily Clark and Rebecca Johnston and Team USA's Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter in the competition.
"The journey starts with trailblazers, who paved the way for others, and ends with current changemakers," said Natalie Zanecchia, a multidisciplinary designer who curated and oversaw the mobile museum's redesign and expansion. "The objective is that everyone will leave this experience with more awareness on the diversity of the sport and more recognition of the names of the individuals highlighted, and that they feel inspired to continue sharing these stories."
The museum also includes a one-of-a-kind hockey diversity card display that profiles Asian, Black, Hispanic and Indigenous players who were groundbreaking "firsts" in the sport.
The 40 cards were assembled by Dean Barnes, an educator near Toronto who collects
hockey cards of Black players
; Chris Woo, a collector of cards of Asian heritage players; his sons Ethan and Brendan Woo and their friend, Connor McDermott, who are fans of Hispanic heritage players like Matthews and Carolina Hurricanes forward Max Pacioretty; and Naim Cardinal, an Indigenous player card collector who wrote biographies for the backs of Upper Deck's recently-released
First Peoples Rookie Cards collection
.
"We're not typical collectors trying to collect for value or investment," Chris Woo said. "We just buy to raise awareness and we like to share the stories, which is super cool, in my opinion."
The display includes cards of Matthews, who is the highest-selected NHL player of Hispanic heritage (No. 1 in the 2016 NHL Draft); the late Larry Kwong, a forward who became the NHL's first player of Asian descent when he debuted with the New York Rangers against the Canadiens on March 13, 1948; Herb Carnegie, who was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November and is regarded by many as the best Black player
never to reach the NHL
; and Fred Sasakamoose, one of the
League's first Indigenous players
. Sasakamoose, a forward who played 11 games for the Chicago Black Hawks in 1953-54, died on Nov. 24, 2020, after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Barnes loaned some of his cards to the Black Hockey History Tour in 2022. He hopes the more diverse card display is as well-received by the public as his cards were last year.
"I was able to follow news coverage of the tour last year and see my cards and the joy upon people's faces when they visited the museum," he said. "I do hope that because of this year's tour that that promotion and awareness and education will continue. Starting at the All-Star Game is a great kick-off to broaden the importance of representation at a signature event for the NHL."
