Penguins Create Academy For Black Youth Hockey Players

Pittsburgh PA

19 February, 2021

8:26 AM

Description

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Penguins have established the Willie O'Ree Academy intending to provide training, social and mentorship opportunities for Black youth hockey players in the Pittsburgh area. O'Ree was the NHL's first Black hockey player. Beginning in June with a nine-week training program, the academy will bring together Black youth players who are already skating in the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL). During the summer, they will be based at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry and participate in two training sessions a week - one on the ice and one off the ice. They will then meet monthly throughout the year for educational programming and mentoring opportunities. The entire program is free. DICK'S Sporting Goods is teaming up with the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation to provide funding and apparel. "We have a number of diversity programs that we will be rolling out in the next few months, but this one is special because it honors Willie's legacy while creating unique growth opportunities for Black youth already playing hockey," Pens president David Morehouse said in a release. The academy starts on June 15 and will be open to boys and girls ages 10-18. During the summer sessions, participants will receive instruction from former NHL players such as the Penguins' Trevor Daley as well as the hockey and training staffs at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Monthly educational programs will be held once the training concludes in mid-August. O'Ree made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins in 1958 and also played professionally for 13 season for the Los Angeles Blades and San Diego Gulls of the Western Hockey League. O'Ree, 85, old, was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a builder in 2018 for his decades-long efforts to introduce hockey to boys and girls of diverse backgrounds. "I was so excited and thrilled that the Willie O'Ree Academy was being developed and ultimately now being launched," he said. "The academy will continue the legacy I have worked so hard to create and maintain in this space." Players and families interested in participating in the academy should click here.