Canada Post has announced its plans to issue a stamp honouring Willie O’Ree, the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Crown corporation will officially issue the new stamp on Oct. 30, two days after its unveiling ceremony in Edmonton, Alta., where O’Ree is scheduled to be in attendance as part of the NHL’s Heritage Classic festivities. O’Ree will be joined by family, friends and other stakeholders, including former NHLer Anson Carter, the NHL’s Senior Executive Vice-President of Marketing and Chief Branding Officer Brian Jennings, the NHL’s Vice-President of Community Development and Industry Growth Jeff Scott plus Canada Post President and Chief Executive Officer Doug Ettinger.
O’Ree made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins in 1958, playing two games with the team that season plus another 43 games in 1960-61, when he scored four goals and 10 assists.
Now 88 years old, the Fredericton, N.B., native received the Order of Canada in 2008 before being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder a decade later.
The Bruins retired his #22 jersey on Jan. 18, 2022, which marked the 64th anniversary of his NHL debut.
Also in 2022, O’Ree received a Congressional Gold Medal – the U.S. Congress’s highest honour – for his contributions to “hockey, inclusion and recreational opportunity,” according to his citation. It marked the first time an NHL player received the honour.