O'Ree's No. 22 to be retired by Bruins

Willie O'Ree
will have his No. 22 retired by the Boston Bruins on Feb. 18 to honor him for becoming the first Black player in the NHL 63 years ago.

The number retirement ceremony will take place before the Bruins play the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden.
O'Ree, who lives in the San Diego area, said he found out about the honor Monday.
"I was sitting in my backyard yesterday afternoon, and Cam Neely from the Bruins called," O'Ree said Tuesday. "I said 'Hi, Cam, how are you?' He said, "I'm fine, I have something special to tell you.' And he said, 'The Bruins are going to retire your number.' I said, 'Oh my gosh.' I was at a loss of words there for a few seconds. I'm overwhelmed and thrilled about having my Bruins jersey hung up in the rafters."
Neely, the Bruins president, said O'Ree's accomplishments on and off the ice make him a perfect candidate to have his number retired.
"Willie's contributions to the game of hockey transcend on-ice accomplishments and have opened countless doors for players who have come after him," Neely said. "He is without question deserving of this honor."
Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs said O'Ree's contributions to the game go well beyond becoming the first Black player in NHL history when he played for Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum in Montreal on Jan. 18, 1958.
"Throughout the history of the National Hockey League, there have been very few individuals that have had such a profound impact on the League and its culture than Willie O'Ree," Jacobs said. "After breaking the color barrier as a Boston Bruin in 1958 and eventually retiring from professional hockey in 1979, Willie became the ultimate ambassador for improving diversity and inclusion within the game of hockey. The entire hockey world is forever indebted to Willie for all that he has done, and continues to do, for the sport. We are incredibly proud to retire Willie's number and cement his legacy as one of Boston's greatest athletes."
The number retirement is one of several honors this season being bestowed upon the 85-year-old from Fredericton, New Brunswick.
NHL players will wear decals on their helmets to commemorate the anniversary of O'Ree's accomplishment and observe Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 18, a United States national holiday that honors the late civil rights leader.
The decal features an image of O'Ree wearing his trademark fedora and the words "Celebrating Equality." The players will wear the stickers from Jan. 16 and throughout Black History Month in February.
"I'm thrilled, overwhelmed," O'Ree said.
Besides O'Ree, 31 other Bruins players have worn No. 22, including Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Brad Park, Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, Brian Leetch, Butch Goring, Jozef Stumpel and Shawn Thornton. Peter Cehlarik, a forward, wore No. 22 for three games last season. Craig Smith, who signed with Boston as a free agent Oct. 10, initially was going to wear No. 22 this season, but the forward will switch to a different number.
"It means a lot," Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. "It's well-deserved. It's just the right thing to do, I think. It's amazing the impact that he's had, breaking obviously the color barrier, but also his work with inclusion and diversity in hockey and pursuing that for so many years now. He's a huge ambassador and someone I've gotten to know over the years, an amazing person to talk to and, again, an amazing honor that's so well-deserved. I'm so happy for him."
Former NHL forward Joel Ward said he was thrilled to learn of the Bruins' plans to honor O'Ree.
"That's amazing," said Ward, who advocated on a recent episode of the NHL's Soul on Ice: The Podcast for O'Ree's number to be retired. "Hats off to the Bruins organization for honoring Willie and what he means to the game and people of color. It will be great for kids to see. To honor a guy who broke barriers is huge."

O'Ree will the 12th player to have his number retired by the Bruins, joining Neely (No. 8, 2004), Lionel Hitchman (No. 53, 1934), Dit Clapper (No. 5, 1947), Eddie Shore (No. 2, 1949), Milt Schmidt (No. 15, 1957), Bobby Orr (No. 4, 1979), Johnny Bucyk (No. 9, 1980), Phil Esposito (No. 7, 1987), Ray Bourque (No. 77, 2001), Terry O'Reilly (No. 24, 2002) and Rick Middleton (No. 16, 2018).
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Bruins said it's possible the ceremony will take place without any fans at TD Garden but that they believe that it is important to move forward with a virtual pregame ceremony. The Bruins said once protocols allow, they will again honor O'Ree with fans in attendance.
O'Ree played 45 NHL games during two seasons (1957-58, 1960-61) with the Bruins despite being blind in his right eye, the result of an injury sustained in junior hockey. He scored 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) during his NHL career.
He enjoyed a lengthy and prolific minor league career, mostly in the former Western Hockey League.
O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2018 for his off-ice accomplishments that helped cultivate a new generation of players and fans as the NHL's diversity ambassador.
He helped establish 39 grassroots hockey programs in North America as part of the Hockey is for Everyone initiative and has inspired more than 120,000 boys and girls to play the sport.
O'Ree's life story on and off the ice is chronicled in "Willie," an award-winning documentary that was released in 2019.
Graphic courtesy of Boston Bruins
NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report