Bruins legend Willie O’Ree to be honored on new Canada Post stamp

Boston Bruins legend Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first Black player, will be honored on a new stamp issued later this month by Canada Post.O’Ree broke the NHL’s color barrier on Jan. 18, 1958, when he played for the Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens, despite being legally blind in one eye.Last year, the Bruins retired O’Ree’s No. 22 jersey on the 64th anniversary of his historic debut.The stamp celebrating O’Ree’s life and legacy will be unveiled in Edmonton on Saturday and will be officially issued on Oct. 30, Canada Post said. O’Ree, who is originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick, played two games for the Bruins during the 1957-58 season, spent the next two seasons in the minors, and came back to Boston for 43 more during the 1960-61 season, notching four goals and 10 assists over his 45 total games. He was traded to the Canadiens in 1961, but never made it back to the NHL level.Since his retirement from the sport, O’Ree has focused on the future of the NHL and since 1998, he has worked for the NHL as a diversity ambassador, working to foster more inclusion and combat the racism that still exists in the league.O’Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018 under the “Builder” category, which is defined by “coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.”In 2018, when the Bruins honored O’Ree on the 60th anniversary of his NHL debut, Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and his father, John, a member of the Garden’s “Bull Gang” for over 50 years, presented O’Ree with one of his game-worn No. 22 jerseys.To that point, O’Ree had yet to track down one of his game-worn Bruins jerseys. The No. 22 jersey was left behind at the old Boston Garden and was passed on to John Grzelcyk by a Bruins equipment staffer and remained in his possession for years before he finally had the chance to present it to O’Ree.The Associated Press contributed to this report.