82-year-old Canadian hockey player Willie O'Ree recently earned a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, honoring his status as the first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL) and his continuous contribution in the industry.

Being the NHL Diversity Ambassador and Director of Youth Development over the last 20 years, O'Ree has been helping establish many local grassroots hockey programs and has inspired countless young people to play the game.

He also paved the way for players of diverse ethnic backgrounds, since he made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins in 1958, where he was repeatedly faced racial slurs but the squad he led sank the Montreal Canadians 3-0 during the match, even though he didn't realize the significance until reading a newspaper the next day, which said he had broken the NHL's color barrier. After that, O’Ree scored four goals and added 10 assists in 45 career NHL games over two seasons. 

According to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, O'Ree did change the game.

"He has done it just about every day since, inspiring generations of NHL players who followed the path he blazed and working tirelessly to encourage and enable countless boys and girls, who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity, to participate in our game and learn the many life lessons it teaches," explained Bettman.

"Willie paved the path for the rest of us. In that way he is a true builder of the game. If you look up the word ‘builder’ there should be a picture of Willie. He is the Jackie Robinson of hockey." said Fuhr, who won five Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers.

(With input from Reuters)