ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Duante' Abercrombie still vividly remembers being a young player attending the second-ever Willie O'Ree All-Star Game at United Center in Chicago in 1997.
"I remember it like it was yesterday, getting that call to go," Abercrombie said. "I remember scoring a goal. I remember my roommate, Gerald Coleman, the first ever player from Diversity Task Force to get drafted into the NHL (by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round, No. 224, of the 2003 NHL Draft). And I remember the confidence that was built that weekend for me.
"Now, when they wanted me to come and be involved this year, it's an absolute dream come true, and a full circle moment as I get to be a part of sewing into these young athletes' lives."
Abercrombie, named the first head coach at the historically black college Tennessee State University set to begin Division I play in the 2025-26 season, was one of several notable speakers and coaches at the Willie O'Ree Skills Weekend hosted by the Minnesota Wild on March 27-29. The objective is to celebrate and bring together the diversity in hockey with boys and girls from varying backgrounds participating in on- and off-ice lessons designed to build confidence and teach life skills.
O'Ree, the first Black player to skate in an NHL game with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Monreal Forum on Jan. 18, 1958, was named the League's diversity ambassador in 1998. He's helped establish 39 grassroots hockey programs and inspire more than 130,000 boys and girls to play the sport.
That inspiration was evident in the 29 girls and boys, ages 10 to 16, from 16 different Hockey is for Everyone youth hockey organizations. Players traveled from across the United States and Canada to St. Paul, Minnesota, for the festivities.
"I've been playing hockey since I was 7 or 8 years old," said Ralph Featherstone, 16, from Washington D.C. "It was difficult at first, but I got the hang of it and the rest is history. I love the rigor and the fun."
Featherstone's dad, also named Ralph, grew up playing hockey as well, but during a time where resources and opportunities felt far more limited than they are for his son and kids today. The elder Featherstone grew up playing for the Fort Dupont Cannons Ice Hockey Club, where his son now plays. He was the first Black captain of the United States Naval Academy's club hockey team and an inspiration for Abercrombie to pursue hockey at a higher level.
"It's changed a lot since I was playing in the early '90s, late '80s," Featherstone said "Racial instances are becoming fewer and far between, and there are more resources and opportunities available. There are still areas for growth and improvement certainly, but hockey has come a long way in inclusion."
Day 1 on Thursday was full of on-ice evaluations and drills. Friday saw Wild defenseman Jon Merrill a member of the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, meet with players after the skills programming session. Retired NHL forward and current analyst Anson Carter spoke on a panel, followed by a VIP screening of the movie "Willie" inside Xcel Energy Center and a tour of the facility guided by Wild doctors Dr. Joel Boyd and Dr. David Hamlar.
