O'Ree, Fuhr, James discuss careers at historic Hall of Fame roundtable

TORONTO -- A historic moment happened on Monday, although the principals involved never once looked at it that way.

Willie O'Ree
, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, Angela James and
Grant Fuhr
sat together and engaged in a roundtable discussion with former NHL player
Anson Carter
serving as the moderator. It was the first time the three black honored members of the Hall were filmed together talking about their careers.
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O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL, will become the first black person inducted into the Builders category of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Fuhr, a five-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s, became the first black athlete in the Hockey Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 2003. James became the first black female in the Hall in 2010.
It wasn't until the 45-minute roundtable discussion was over that O'Ree, James and Fuhr realized the historic impact of their meeting.

"And they've got it on tape and hopefully they'll be able to show it," said O'Ree, who made his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958. "It's a nice feeling just to know that I had a small part of opening doors and breaking down barriers to make it possible for not only Angela but for Grant and Anson to play in the NHL."
The roundtable was arranged by Kwame Mason, the writer, producer and director of "Soul on Ice: Past, Present and Future," a 2015 documentary that details the history of black players in ice hockey.
"You talk about Mr. O'Ree's background and where he came up, my background and Grant's background, it hits so many different things from being adopted, being bi-racial, and Anson being a star in the NHL and now sitting here commentating," James said. "It shows you can do anything if you put your mind to it."
Unlike the three Hall of Famers he was interviewing, Carter immediately thought of the historic element of the roundtable when he was asked by Mason to moderate it.
"Oh yeah, 100 percent," he said. "When I was asked to do this, I didn't even hesitate."
Carter, who had 421 points (202 goals, 219 assists) in 674 games during 10 seasons in the NHL, also has a different perspective as a player who benefitted from the barriers O'Ree, James and Fuhr broke before he got to the NHL in 1996.
"I wasn't a goaltender because goalie equipment is so expensive, but I loved everything about Grant Fuhr's game, the athleticism and the fact that he won, played on the best teams," Carter said. "For me to have a sit-down with him, it blew my mind. I told my brother and he was like, 'What?' And Angela James, she's the reason I watch women's hockey. I remember watching her back in 1990 and I was thinking, 'Who is this powerful skater with sick hands, just dominating this game the way Gretzky used to do in the '80s?'"

James won four IIHF Women's World Championship gold medals, including in 1990, the inaugural year of the tournament, when she scored 11 goals in five games. She was among the first three women inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2008 and joined Cammi Granato as the first two women in the Hockey Hall of Fame two years later.
"To be able to meet her and talk to her and be around her in this environment, especially on Willie's big day, is huge," Carter said. "The fact that I could get with all three of them together and sit down with them, I think it's a big moment for hockey."
So big, in fact, that Carter said he cycled through three outfits before settling on his suit and tie combination. He didn't want to regret anything about the moment.
"For me, it was that special," Carter said.
The NHL is expected to release the footage of the roundtable discussion in the coming months.
"Sometimes your schedule is so packed it's like, 'Oh, I can't get another thing in,' " James said. "But now I'm saying, 'Oh my God, if I would have missed this I would have really regretted it.'
"I didn't really look at it as history being made. Really, if anything, it's more about friendships being made."