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May 13—When a puck smacked the ice at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday night to start the last game of the Tampa Bay Lightning's regular season, it heralded a little bit of hockey history. Willie O'Ree, wherever he happened to be, was surely smiling. The Lightning called up Daniel Walcott for his first game in the NHL, and coach Jon Cooper rostered him on the top line with Gemel ...
History Made When All-Black Line Starts an NHL Game (Image: NHL) There is, surprisingly, history still being made in sports that most wouldn’t have even considered. This is especially true in hockey, where more needs to be accomplished when it comes to feats involving Black players. Earlier this week, according to People, a National Hockey League team placed an all-Black starting line in a game for the first time in the history of the professional sports league. The NHL was founded in 1917. For a league whose roster of players is approximately 3% Black, it was definitely an accomplishment....
Left to right: Daniel Walcott, Mathieu Joseph, and Gemel Smith Photo Credit: HOCKEYDB.COM, NHL.COM, HOCKEYDB.COM 10 minutes before the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers were set to face off on May 10th, Tampa coach Jon Cooper unveiled his lineup. For the first time in NHL history, three black men were assigned to a line together, and were given the nod to start the game for the team. In a move that many around the league are praising, the Lightning started the game with Mathieu Joseph, Gemel Smith, and Daniel Walcott occupying the forward positions. NHL Network analyst Kevin Week...
Tampa Bay Lightning sign Simon Ryfors to one-year, two-way contract Share this story Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that they have signed Swedish forward Simon Ryfors to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2021-22 season. Ryfors will turn 24 years old in August and is listed at 5’10” and 181 pounds. Ryfors was never drafted in the NHL Entry Draft, but would have first been eligible for selection in the 2015 draft. Ryfors has spent the last five seasons playing in the SHL in Sweden for Rogle BK. He made his debut in 2015-16 with one gam...
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 by The Associated Press (AP) Florida Panthers goaltender Chris Driedger, left, defends the goal against Tampa Bay Lightning's Daniel Walcott (85) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, May 10, 2021, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Stay tuned in to our local news coverage: Listen to 90.7 WMFE on your FM or HD radio, the WMFE mobile app or your smart speaker — say “Alexa, play NPR” and you’ll be connected. SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning started three Black forwards in their regular-season finale against the Florida Pa...