June 25, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

Willie O’Ree to Drop Puck for LA Kings’ MLK Day Game

Willie O’Ree, the first black to play in the NHL, will drop the puck in the ceremonial faceoff before Monday’s Los Angeles Kings- Tampa Bay Lightning game in connection with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

O’Ree will also attend a screening of “Soul On Ice: Past, Present & Future,” a 2015 documentary on black hockey players and join director Damon Kwame Mason in fielding questions from the approximately 500 invited youngsters.

O’Ree made his NHL debut on Jan. 18, 1958, in the Boston Bruins’ 3-0 victory at Montreal. O’Ree played one more game with Boston that season, then returned to Quebec Hockey League’s Quebec Aces.

O’Ree played 43 games with the Bruins in the 1960-61 season, scoring four goals and having 10 assists in 43 games. O’Ree was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in June 1961, but never played for them.

O’Ree was traded on Nov. 10, 1961 to the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League, who he played with until they disbanded in 1967 when the NHL expanded to Los Angeles.

O’Ree joined the WHL’s San Diego Gulls for the 1967-68 season, their second. He remained with the Gulls for their final seven seasons, scoring a career high-equaling 38 goals in the 1968-69 season.

O’Ree returned to professional hockey after a three-season absence in 1978 at the age of 43 with the Pacific Hockey League’s San Diego Hawks, scoring 21 goals and assisting on 25 others in 53 games.

O’Ree played 19 years of professional hockey, despite being 95 percent blind in his right eye as a result of being hit in the eye by a deflected puck before he entered the NHL. O’Ree kept his vision problem secret, because if it had been known, it would have ended his playing career.

Alf Pike, who coached O’Ree with the Blades, figured O’Ree was keeping a vision problem secret and switched him to his right wing, and O’Ree blossomed into a top WHL scorer.

Following his playing career, O’Ree was security director at the Coronado Hotel.

In 1998, O’Ree became the NHL’s Director of Youth Development and an ambassador for NHL Diversity. He has aided in introducing hockey to more than 40,000 boys and girls of diverse backgrounds, and has established nearly 40 local grassroots hockey programs throughout North America.

O’Ree’s many honors include the Order of Canada, his native country’s second greatest honor, and the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. He is a member of the San Diego Hall of Champions and New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.

 

Kings

Related Posts

Masked Federal Agents Detain Female Iranian Asylum Seeker in Westwood

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

31-Year-Old Woman was Hospitalized After Possible Medical Emergency On Tuesday, June 24, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., near the...

Los Angeles Leaders Push to Ban Masks for Federal Agents Amid Immigration Raids

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Concerns Grow Over Anonymous ICE and CBP Officers in Los Angeles   A growing coalition of California lawmakers and local leaders...

(Video) Food Fight: Chefs Join Forces to Raise Money to Protect Immigrant Families in Venice

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Estrano, Little Dynamite, Sunday Gravy, Kabob Senpai Answer the Call From Turk’s Pizza Party. Dave Turkel Put This Food Resistance...

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...

Paris Hilton Buys Mark Wahlberg’s Beverly Park Mansion for $63.1M

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

The Heiress and Media Mogul Joins a Star-Studded Neighborhood Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum have purchased a high-profile estate...

A.O.C. Brentwood to Close After 16 Years on San Vicente Boulevard

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

Chef Goin and Styne Cite Unsustainably High Rent in Decision to Close  A.O.C. Brentwood, the acclaimed Westside outpost from James...

Weekend Lane Closures on PCH in Malibu Could Snarl Summer Beach Traffic

June 21, 2025

June 21, 2025

Army Corps Work Triggers Weekend Closure on Pacific Coast Highway Motorists traveling along Pacific Coast Highway this weekend should prepare...

LA City Councilwomen Yaroslavsky and Jurado Call for Legal Action Against Federal Immigration Raids

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

City Motion Targets Alleged Unconstitutional Tactics, End Qualified Immunity for Fed Officers  City Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Ysabel Jurado introduced...

All Aboard to LAX: Metro Opens Game-Changing Transit Hub Ahead of Global Events

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

 New LAX/Metro Transit Center Comes Closer to Connecting Metro Directly to LAX The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)...

Princess Diana’s Largest Wardrobe Auction Set for Beverly Hills

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Over 200 Royal Garments to Hit the Auction Block for Charity More than 200 garments and royal artifacts, including the...

Queer Beauty Through the Ages: Getty Hosts Lecture on Greek Art’s Influence on LGBTQ Aesthetics

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Art Historian to Trace Homoerotic Imagery From Ancient Greece to Modern Queer Identity As part of its ongoing Pride Month...