Boston University hockey player Jordan Greenway will make history in Pyeongchang, South Korea, becoming the first African-American ever to be selected for the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team.
Breaking that 98-year color barrier, which began in the 1920 Winter Games in Antwerp, Belgium, when men’s ice hockey was first included, is a significant achievement, but Greenway tells NBC Sports that he is just “another kid going to play in the Olympics.”
Greenway says he’s happy to be first and hopes it will inspire young minorities to give hockey a shot.
“I don’t think a lot of African-Americans play hockey at a high level,” said Greenway. “I’m just trying to get more and more of those kids to try and go out and do something different.”
At 14, Greenway began playing at Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minnesota, known for its hockey program.
Greenway, at 6 feet, 5 inches and 238 pounds, will be the biggest player on the U.S. team when it takes the ice Feb. 14 and hockey competition officially kicks off.
The Canton, New York, native was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 2015 NHL draft but is in the midst of completing his final year at Boston University.
He’ll cross the NHL bridge when he comes to it, but right now it’s all about bringing home the gold.
