The idea to bring Willie O'Ree back to the NHL started with Lou Vairo, the director of special projects for USA Hockey since 1992. Lou and I put our heads together. We wanted to figure out ways to help kids of color get access to the game of hockey. And I knew who Willie was, but Lou immediately said, "We've got to track down Willie O'Ree." I said, "You're right, you're right."
I had to find him, but it was pre-Google! I asked a friend who worked for the FBI and he found him. He told me he was working in hotel security in San Diego. I was like, "What? Are we talking about the same guy?" He goes, "I'm sure, 100 percent. It's him."
I called Willie and he didn't believe me at first, that I wanted to bring him to the NHL. He'd been disappointed before about the prospect of getting back into hockey. He really wanted to get back into the game in some way, but he didn't have that support system. He didn't have that infrastructure. He was loved, just as he is now. Everyone who's met Willie O'Ree immediately knows he's a great guy, but no one was going to go out on that limb and give him a scouting job or groom him for a front office position. He still wasn't given that chance, until we gave him that chance.
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I explained to him that we were trying to teach people in these underserved areas how to fish rather than giving them fish, and we needed him to help. I was a "suit" sitting in a skyscraper in New York. We needed somebody to be that guy. I had no idea if Willie could be that guy, if he was going to be rough around the edges or just not good with people. But Willie is off the charts.
One of the first events that he ever did in New York City, Commissioner Gary Bettman was there, and he turns to me and says, "This guy is awesome."
Yes, Willie is that good at what he does. He connects to people in an amazingly effortless way.