Color of Hockey: Greenway, Grier honored by Boston University

Ed Wright and Lloyd Robinson during the 100th anniversary of the men’s hockey program.

oston University is honoring the legacy of its Black players as part of the 100th anniversary of the men’s hockey program.

To honor his presence at the state legislature, DFL Rep. Steve Elkins of Bloomington and DFL Sen. Kelly Morrison of Deephaven worked with bicycle advocates to introduce the Bill Dooley Bicycle Safety Act, which would fund building more sidewalks and bike lanes, fund efforts to train children how to bike and walk to get around, and require schools to do the same. The bill allows cities to enact lower speed limits on streets that children use to get to and from school, and allows people on bicycles to cruise past stop good players on that team. It allowed me to understand how good the NHL is, how good pro hockey is, and gave me a taste of what was to come.” val Boston College.

Wild forward, Rangers adviser part of legacy celebrated for 100th anniversary of men’s hockey program

By William Douglas/NHL.com

Staff Writer

The university’s athletic department produced video tributes to Minnesota Wild forward Jordan Greenway, New York Rangers hockey operations adviser Mike Grier, Ed Wright and Lloyd Robinson, all

“With the four that we’re highlighting, when you really look at it, they’ve all been pioneers in some way, shape or form,” said Brian Kelley, associate athletic director for marketing & communications at Boston University. “Obviously, it’s a proud part of our history and fitting in the 100th season of BU men’s hockey that they’re honored and recognized.” signs as in Idaho.

Here’s a look at the honorees: Jordan Greenway (2015-18) Greenway became the first Black player to skate for the United States men’s Olympic hockey team when he was selected to play in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

Minnesota selected Greenway in the second round (No. 50) of the 2015 NHL Draft. He signed a three-year, $9 million contract (average annual value $3 million) with the Wild on Jan. 31. He scored 92 points (28 goals, 64 assists) in 112 games at Boston.

With Dooley gone, the Twin Cities, where Black transportation advocates are few and far between, now has one less.

“I’ve been involved in cycling for 50 years as a person of color, and I was out there by myself for a long, long time,” recounted Moore. “So when Bill came along, it was good to be able to have somebody to help support the idea that the Black community could be a part of the bicycling community here in the Twin Cities.”

Outside of transportation,

Courtesy of the Dooley family

Bill enjoyed jazz, reading, and independent films, according to his Twitter profile. In the 1980s, he was editor of a Twin Cities Jazz Society publication. He is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Shana York and Laura Glenn, and seven grandchildren. Anyone wishing to honor his legacy may make a contribution to the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota or the Major Taylor Bicycling Club.

H. Jiahong Pan welcomes reader responses to hpan@spokesmanrecorder.com.

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog for the past nine years. Douglas joined NHL.com in March 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, as part of the NHL celebrating Black History Month, he profiles Boston University honoring Jordan Greenway, Mike Grier, of whom have played integral roles in diversifying the sport.

The videos, narrated by current BU players, were shown on the hockey team’s social media accounts, and aired on the scoreboard at Agganis Arena on Saturday during the home season finale against ri-

The 25-year-old native of Canton, New York, was one of four college players on a roster largely comprised of United States-born players who were competing internationally or in the American Hockey League. Greenway scored one goal in five games. The United States finished seventh.

“It was a pretty good tuneup for me to see the next level,” Greenway said. “We played against the Russian team, and they had (Ilya) Kovalchuk, (Pavel) Datsyuk, Krill (Kaprizov), some

Grier was the first United States-born Black player to score 20 goals in one season, doing it for the Edmonton Oilers

■ See Hockey on page 11

Concordia College, Moorhead Concordia University, St. Paul Gustavus Adolphus College

Hamline University

Macalester College

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Saint John’s University

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

St. Catherine University

St. Olaf College

University of Northwestern – St. Paul

University of St. Thomas

Sean J. Ennevor, MD

Guest Contributor

Many of us reflect on the warm days of summer and enjoying the lakes as well as the pools of the region. Swimming can be an enjoyable activity for many. It has the potential to be a low impact, healthy aerobic activity for improving cardiovascular fitness, resulting in greater endurance.

It’s a great activity that almost all can participate in year-round. Sadly, the activity of swimming is not an inherent skill. Immersion in water without the ability to swim, float or breathe may result in drowning. Non-fatal drowning may lead to long-term complications, and drowning at its worst leads to fatalities.

As a physician I have encountered drowning victims in practice throughout the country. These victims have been of all genders and races. Of significance, the majority of victims were of color and children.

As swimming pools gained popularity in the 20th century, people of color were denied access. A report from the USA swimming foundation in 2017