Photo courtesy of: The Peterborough Petes
Diversity in hockey is a topic that has been brought up plenty over the past few years, and for good reason.
We spoke to former Peterborough Petes forward Akil Thomas, who says growing up as a person of colour in the sport he can see why a lot of black kids choose not to play hockey.
Thomas emphasizes that representation in the sport is important, as it will encourage other black children to take up the sport. He says having role models to look up to in today’s game could result in more black kids playing hockey.
Thomas says growing up, he’s had hundreds of supportive teammates along the way, and stresses that he’s always felt very comfortable in the dressing room.
In the aftermath of the George Floyd incident in 2020, the hockey community came together to show unity as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Thomas says as a black hockey player, this is something that inspired him. He feels it sent a positive message to the rest of the world.
Today, Akil plays for the Ontario Reign of the AHL, an affiliate of the NHL’s LA Kings. In his time since leaving the Peterborough Petes in 2020, he has also collaborated with the Kings as well as the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs to design custom Black History Month jerseys to be worn and auctioned off in support of numerous causes.
(Written by: Matt Latour)
