Fourth annual Hockey in the Hood draws 22 inner city and rural area teams from all over the country

The post-tournament team photo is as much a staple of youth hockey as the championship trophy is. Fingers in the air, goalies out front, coaches in the back — they’re more or less the same: one team celebrating a successful weekend.

However on February 15-17 in Detroit at the Fourth Annual Hockey in the Hood tournament no such photos were taken. Rather, at the conclusion of each of the tournament’s 68 games, photos were snapped with both teams intermixed at center ice. And for a tournament dedicated to the virtues of diversity and the communal nature of the game, you couldn’t have dreamt up better symbolism.

“It’s less about team pride than it is about love of the sport,” said Robert Wooley, NHL Manager of Diversity Programming. “So when it comes down to it all these kids are here for one thing and that’s a love of hockey.”

Photos by Tom Turrill

USA Hockey’s Sam Greenblatt (left) and Detroit Hockey Association president Will McCants (right) joined Willie O’Ree in celebrating diversity in hockey at the Hockey in the Hood in Detroit.

Now in its fourth year, Hockey in the Hood has acted as a Midwestern gathering place for inner-city and rural hockey programs. What began as a two-team collaboration between the Detroit Hockey Association and the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club of Washington D.C. — two of the country’s most established NHL Diversity Task Force programs — has morphed into an 11-program, 22-team hockey festival for non-traditional hockey programs.

“It’s a beautiful weekend,” said Neal Henderson, Director of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club. “It’s now becoming very, very popular. This is the fourth one and every year it grows, and we don’t know the extent at which it will get to.”

The Detroit Hockey Association, recognized by USA Hockey as the program with the greatest concentration of African American players, has hosted the tournament since its inception. Unlike traditional tournaments, which are divided up into two-year age brackets, Hockey in the Hood hosted Mite/Squirt, Squirt/Pee Wee, Pee Wee/Bantam and Bantam/Midget games to allow less developed programs to dress full squads. All of the programs that participated in the event are members of the 39-member NHL Diversity Task Force, a growing group of youth hockey programs dedicated to diversifying the sport.

Each team played three games at Detroit’s Jack Adams Memorial Arena and the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum, with championship games held at Joe Louis Arena in the Pee Wee/Bantam and Bantam/Midget division. Detroit squads won both of the championship games by 4-3 margins over the Wasilla Wild Hockey Association in the Pee Wee/Bantam division, and the Columbus Ice Hockey Club in the Bantam/Midget bracket.

But at Hockey in the Hood, differentiating between winners and losers was almost irrelevant. The focus was on the development of inner city and rural hockey, and that mindset certainly did not escape the kids.

“It’s awesome,” said Emilo Bravo, a Squirt/Pee Wee player from the Columbus (OH) Ice Hockey Club. “You get to meet other people, and then you play them, and then you see how different your program is from theirs.”

A Unique Mix in the Motor City
Wasilla, Alaska and Detroit don’t have very much in common.

The former is home to roughly 6,500 people and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, while the latter is the automobile capital of the world and has a population hovering around 920,000. And considering that over 4,000 miles and a giant landmass known as Canada are nestled between the locals, the two communities are about as similar geographically as they are socially.

But due to the nature of Hockey in the Hood, a team from the Wasilla Wild Youth Hockey Association trekked to Detroit for the weekend — albeit by airplane.

The Detroit Dragons (left) and the Fort Dupont Hockey Club of Washington, DC competed in the fourth annual Hockey in the Hood tournament in Detroit on Feb. 15-17.

The Wasilla squad was one of nine programs from outside of Michigan to take part in the tournament, and Hockey in the Hood was the program’s first appearance in the continental United States. As with all of the participating programs, NHL Diversity took on part of Wasilla’s travel burden, making the trip relatively affordable, but still substantial.

“For our kids to come to this tournament cost them as much money as our entire season of hockey,” said Dick Harren, Director of the Wasilla Wild Youth Hockey Association. “It’s a $700 trip for us, and the whole season of hockey for our kids costs $600.”

But the collection of teams at Hockey in the Hood was more than just a group of inner-city teams and a club from Alaska. The state of Michigan had two programs in addition to the Detroit Hockey Association participating in the tournament, and each added something unique to the mix of youth hockey organizations that congregated in Detroit.

As one of the only hockey associations in the region that hosts organized leagues on an outdoor regulation ice rink, the Clark Park Coalition Hockey Club of Southwest Detroit entered a team in both the Squirt/Pee Wee and Pee Wee/Bantam divisions. Clark Park Coalition and the Detroit Hockey Association are Michigan’s lone NHL Diversity Task Force programs; however, the Detroit Hockey Association plays all of their games on a few indoor rinks in Detroit, while Clark Park Coalition prefers their outdoor digs.

“We like outdoor skating underneath the stars at night,” said Anthony Benavides, Director of the Clark Park Coalition Hockey Club. “It’s something a lot of kids don’t get to experience anymore.”

And for the first time in the tournament’s history an all-girls team participated in the tournament. A girl’s 10 and Under Belle Tire team entered in the Mite/Squirt division and won all three of their games against predominantly male squads.

With a team from Alaska, a club who still skates outdoors, an all-girls squad and a collection of inner-city programs from around the country, calling Hockey in the Hood IV diverse is a big understatement.

Hockey in the Hood’s Hero
As the bell chimed at Carter Middle School in Warren, an increasingly large group of students huddled in a mass inside the school’s cafeteria. School administrators were attempting to hurry the kids into their next class, but the students — with agendas, sticky notes and recently printed pictures from the school’s Laserjets in hand — didn’t seem to notice.

Willie O’Ree was signing autographs in their lunchroom and today pre-algebra could wait.
In the midst of his 50th anniversary tour of NHL cities in honor of his breaking of the NHL’s color barrier, Willie O’Ree flew to Detroit for the weekend to speak with children at local schools and attend the tournament festivities.

As the Director of Youth Development for NHL Diversity, O’Ree has dedicated his post-playing career to furthering the game of hockey and bringing it to non-traditional hockey communities.
“I can relate to these boys and girls out here playing in this tournament,” O’Ree said. “There wasn’t any tournament like this when I was growing up.”

Willie O’Ree drops the ceremonial first puck between the captains from the Detroit Dragons (left) and Washington, D.C.’s Fort Dupont to kick off the fourth annual Hockey in the Hood tournament in Detroit.

While it has taken O’Ree’s 50th anniversary to widely proliferate his lifestory — an African-Canadian who in 1958 became the first person of color to play in the NHL even after a puck to his right eye caused him to lose 95 percent of his vision in his eye — many of the kids participating in Hockey in the Hood have been learning from O’Ree for years.

“When they see him they know what he’s about and that’s important,” said Will McCants, President of the Detroit Hockey Association. “A lot of kids today and a lot of people don’t even know his story, but all of my kids and most of these kids know Willie, and they know his story.”

During the weekend, O’Ree received what McCants estimated to be seven different awards from organizations like the Detroit Red Wings and the City of Detroit in recognition of his 50th anniversary. But O’Ree wasn’t in town as simply a figurehead to collect plaques and oversized checks. He’s taken a hands-on approach to his role with NHL Diversity, running clinics, and working with kids and program directors.

“I’ve coached with Willie in hockey games, and I’ve seen him coach the kids in camps,” said Harren. “And he doesn’t have a peer when it comes to inspiring and motivating kids. He’s just a tremendous blessing to hockey.”

And for O’Ree, the weekend and his most recent occupation are about opening up doors and spreading the game to previously foreign areas.

“The nice thing about it is that these kids are getting the opportunity to play,” O’Ree said. “A lot of them are from the inner city and a lot of them are from already outside (the city) and are coming in and know that they have a nice place to play and nice facilities.”

Hockey may not be known for its diversity yet, but with the efforts of O’Ree and Hockey in the Hood organizers, it can be.

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