O'Ree sees Bruins retired number banner, hosts skills weekend in Boston

BOSTON --Willie O'Ree ended a busy Saturday by getting
his first in-person look at the banner
of his retired Boston Bruins number in the rafters at TD Garden.

Though O'Ree missed the ceremony officially retiring his No. 22 on Jan. 18 when he stayed in San Diego due to travel concerns surrounding the coronavirus, he was in Boston for Willie O'Ree Skills Weekend. The emotions flowed when he saw the banner before the Bruins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2.
"Yes, that's very nice," O'Ree said with a smile. "Walking into TD Garden and actually seeing it is really great. I never dreamed in my lifetime that my number would be retired and hanging up in the rafters."
O'Ree dressed for the occasion, wearing the custom-made fedora that Bruins players presented him at the jersey retirement ceremony. He promised them he would wear it on his first visit to Boston since February 2020.
The 86-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer received a loud ovation from the Garden crowd when he was shown on the center ice scoreboard with shots of his banner.
O'Ree joined 57 boys and girls from 17 Hockey is for Everyone programs across North America who participated in the Willie O'Ree Skills Weekend on its final day. The event, named in honor of the first Black player in the NHL, was hosted by the Bruins, the NHL and SCORE Boston, a Hockey is for Everyone affiliate.
The kids played games at Agganis Arena on the campus of Boston University and Warrior Ice Arena, the Bruins' practice facility, before attending Blue Jackets-Bruins. O'Ree gave them a pep talk from the bench at Warrior Arena. The players gave him jerseys from their Hockey is for Everyone programs.
The organizations represented included Ice Hockey in Harlem, Washington, D.C.'s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Philadelphia's Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, the Flint Inner City Youth Hockey Program, HEROS Hockey of Canada, the Detroit Ice Dreams Youth Hockey Association and the Columbus Ice Hockey Club.
"The programs have grown over the years and there are more kids playing hockey than before," O'Ree said. "It's a nice feeling to know that I had a small part in getting these boys and girls on the ice and helping them set goals for themselves and become good citizens."

O'Ree debuted Jan. 18, 1958 with the Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. He played 45 NHL games over two seasons (1957-58, 1960-61) and scored 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) despite being legally blind in his right eye, the result of an injury sustained while playing junior hockey.
But he had a lengthy pro career, mostly in the Western Hockey League, where he scored 639 points (328 goals, 311 assists) in 785 games for Los Angeles and San Diego.
O'Ree was named the NHL diversity ambassador in 1998. He has helped establish 39 grassroots hockey programs and inspired more than 120,000 boys and girls to play the sport.
The bill to present O'Ree the Congressional Gold Medal was signed into law by president of the United States Joe Biden on Feb. 1. It is awarded to individuals or groups for distinguished achievements and contributions. Recipients include George Washington, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Jackie Robinson, Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
O'Ree was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018 as a Builder, mainly for his off-ice accomplishments. His life story was chronicled in "Willie," an award-winning documentary released in 2019.
A life-sized bronze statue of O'Ree highlights a Black hockey exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
In March, O'Ree joined the ownership group of Boston of the Premier Hockey Federation, a North American women's professional league.