Willie O'Ree made NHL history on January 18, 1958, when he became the first Black player to take to the ice. There was a round of applause when O'Ree stepped onto the ice, and newspapers ran the story. The color barrier in the NHL had been broken, yet it would be sixteen years before the next Black player, Mike Marson, was drafted. Four decades later, the NHL made O'Ree an ambassador for the NHL's "Hockey is for Everyone" program to encourage kids from all backgrounds to play hockey. This book traces the early life of O'Ree, his journey in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, and his work encouraging diversity in hockey. This book traces the early life of the NHL's first black hockey player, Willie O'Ree, from his home in Fredericton, New Bruswick, to the Hockey Hall of Fame Nicole Mortillaro is a sports editor and writer from Toronto. Her first book in the Recordbooks series was Something to Prove , a biography of hockey player Bobby Clarke.