I have a favorite line that I ever got to play with, and that would be at the World Cup. I got to play with Mario Lemieux and Joe Sakic. I got to be the right winger on their line.
Jarome Iginla
To see Grant Fuhr starring, to see Claude Vilgrain and Tony McKegney, it was very important for me to see to follow my dream.
I always wanted to be like Mark Messier and I loved Wayne Gretzky, the same as other kids. But it was also really special for me to see the Black players that were in the NHL.
I grew up in a city just outside of Edmonton, St. Albert. So I watched NHL games with my grandpa. I watched a lot of games, back then it was called the Smythe Division, and it was just Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg.
I grew up here in St. Albert, which is a city just north of Edmonton, and I went to Grade 10 here at Paul Kane High School. But then I went to junior in the WHL, Western Hockey League, at age 16. So I left and went to finish school at Norkam High School in Kamloops for grades 11 and 12.
There was definitely no time in grades 11 and 12 to do any other sports. That was one downside; I really enjoyed playing other sports.
But once I left home to play hockey, it was a commitment to be the best I could be and try to make the NHL.
There weren't many black players when I was growing up, and I remember playing and looking up to the ones that were playing.
It's an amazing honor to be the fourth Black hockey player to go into the Hall of Fame. It's a huge thrill.
Growing up, I played hockey because I loved playing it. I didn't view myself in minor hockey as a Black hockey player, but I was also aware that I was.
Competing is very, very important me.
I started playing for the Flames at 19 but even in minor hockey I remember traveling to Calgary for tournaments, from St. Albert, and I imagined playing in the Saddledome.
I've always dreamt of being on a Stanley Cup-winning team. That always stayed with me.
For whatever reason I love big-city skylines. I've always been fascinated by them.
I mean, sometimes if you're not always going to win on the scoreboard, you want to make sure that you're there physically.
At times during hockey, I know myself, you get so wrapped up in it, you squeeze your stick a little too much, all those things, or you're too focused.
As a player, I do love playing Edmonton and Vancouver, those guys, with the intensity.
As players you are always trying to do different things in the summer.
I would like to be in the playoffs. I would hope that there is some opportunity to go and play in the playoffs. Those are the best games, the most fun for sure, and you have a chance to win.
I enjoyed all my time in Calgary.
I want to be shooter, be competitive, go to the net, so it has changed, but it hasn't changed that much. It's more skating than it used to be for sure.
We all have different styles, so it's part of the game trying to be competitive and compete and be determined.
Music was a big part of my upbringing. My mum and my grandma are very passionate about music.
When I was younger, to be honest, watching Bo Jackson, I dreamed of playing both sports. But as I got older, the opportunities were much better in hockey than baseball.
I was a big fan of Grant Fuhr. I was a big Oilers fan growing up. I started out playing goal, but there wasn't enough action. So I decided to play out, and I'm thankful, 'cause goalie is a tough position.
Sometimes you get into fights if a teammate is getting taken advantage of, sometimes just from competing and you feel someone takes a cheap shot. It's just the intensity. It's an intense game, sometimes you just get too fired up and fights happen.
It was tough leaving Boston with a great city, a great organization and a great bunch of guys.
Any racism towards anybody, it's not acceptable.
I'd love to be a role model for black kids, whether they play hockey or not.
Just like Grant Fuhr and Tony McKegney showed me it was possible to do what I'm doing, I want to be someone who shows kids that it's possible to be whatever they want to be.
I played on a line with Theo Fleury and German Titov, and I was actually center on their line.
I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of neat experiences, Olympics and everything, getting to the Stanley Cup Finals was really cool, but to actually make the NHL was just something I don't think I or my family will ever forget.
Where I grew up, hockey was the sport that 90 per cent of black kids at school played.
I started in Grade 2. I went with my aunt and her boyfriend to an arena, an outdoor rink which was a block away from my grandparents. My grandpa came from Oregon. He had coached his son, my uncle, in hockey, and he was happy to get me involved in it.
I haven't been to Nigeria, but my dad and I have talked about going. I have a grandma over there who's been here.
Each goal, each win, going to different buildings, the rivalries, the excitement - it is something. I try to catch myself, you know, in the warm-ups, when you're on the line and the anthem and you get to some milestones and stuff. It's such a neat experience.
I believe in God, stay close, and pray daily. I have to pray, believe, and do the work. Once I go on the ice, I do the best I can and I leave it. If the goalie saves my first shot, my next shot's going in.
A legacy, or things like that, I've never really been a big thinker in that way. You know, it's kind of just been trying to go each day.
My mom's actually a Buddhist. My dad's a Christian and he was a Muslim, but he converted to Christianity.
Winning that gold medal at the Olympics is something I'll never forget.
I dreamed of being an NHLer the first day I played. Sometimes the other kids would say there are not many black players in the N.H.L. So I really followed as many black players as I could.
I was a better hockey player than I was a baseball player.
In hockey, you get to meet a lot of different people and become friends with them. It is definitely a special sport. I love that part of it.
My grandfather was a big sports fan and so was my mom.
I remember starting hockey at age 7 and going to my first tryout and dreaming about how great it would be, and it's been even better. These 20 years in the NHL, it's been better.
