O'Ree has Boston street hockey rink named in his honor

BOSTON -- Willie O'Ree will become a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in less than two weeks.

That fact finally is starting to seem real.
"It does," said O'Ree, who became the first black player in the NHL when he debuted for the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958. "It's starting to register with me that I'm going in."
But he can't quite relax yet. There's still work to be done, ahead of the induction Nov. 12, when O'Ree will enter the Hall in the builder category, as will NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Players Martin St. Louis, Martin Brodeur, Jayna Hefford and Aleksander Yakushev will also be inducted in Toronto.
"The speech is going good," O'Ree said, chuckling. "I cut it down from eight. I only have five minutes. It was eight minutes and 23 seconds. I got it down to five minutes and 10 seconds. I think I've done pretty good. They'll have to go with the 10 seconds. If the hook comes out, oh well."
On Thursday, O'Ree was in Boston at the unveiling of Willie O'Ree Street Hockey Rink. It was a testament to what O'Ree, the NHL's diversity ambassador for the Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, has spent the past 23 years doing: opening up the sport for a diverse group of children, allowing those who might not otherwise have the chance to play to do so.

In addition to the rink, the Bruins announced on Thursday they are donating $250,000 to Boston to refurbish street hockey rinks in the city.
"I think it's great," O'Ree said. "I think anytime you can erect a facility where you can bring boys and girls and get them together with different races and creeds and they can come out and enjoy the game, what more can you ask?"
The rink had those in attendance reminiscing about their own street hockey days, and they said they wished they'd had a rink like this one when they were young. Bruins players Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron, and president Cam Neely, all said they had only had the streets in front of their houses, their makeshift goals and snow banks.
"That's my childhood in a nutshell," Bergeron said.
Chara said, "All the time, pretty much every day. That's all we did as kids, growing up, playing outdoors. I wish we would have something as beautiful as this. Pretty much we were playing on the streets, made nets out of the garbage cans. It was just a blast.
"I think this is very special for the community and so many young kids to be able to come here and use this beautiful outdoor rink."
Not only did the current Bruins get to help dedicate the rink and meet some of the kids from the Special Olympics street hockey team, SCORE Boston Youth Hockey and Allston Brighton Youth Hockey, they also got a chance to see and speak with O'Ree.
"It's amazing," Bergeron said. "It's a long time coming, right? It's well deserved. He's such a great ambassador. Every time you have a chance to talk to him, the way that he is, he's such a great role model for kids, but also that program, Hockey Is For Everyone, I think he's doing a great job with it. It speaks for itself, just the name of it is what it's all about. I couldn't be happier for him."
They got a chance to wish O'Ree well before he gets set to be enshrined, an honor that Chara and Bergeron could each earn one day.
It's heady for O'Ree as the days tick away, with 11 left before the ultimate honor. So how does he feel?
"Excited," he said. "Overwhelmed."
But he's not done.
"I'm very happy for the work that I've been doing over the 20 years," O'Ree said. "There's still a lot of work to be done, a lot of doors to be opened, a lot of opportunities, barriers to break down. But you just take it a day at a time and just work at it."