Dallas Stars initiative raises bar for inclusion in hockey
DALLAS - Black History Month comes to a close, and FOX 4 Sports wanted to share a story about an initiative the Dallas Stars have put into place.
It involves the Boys and Girls Club, and it's all about making hockey more inclusive and more diverse.
Deron Bethea grew up in Dallas playing street hockey during the 90s.
"We used to play with rollerblades, street hockey, moved out the way when the cars drove by," he recalled.
His love for the sports grew while watching those 1999 Dallas Stars achieve immortality by bringing back The Stanley Cup.
"Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, love them all," Bethea said.
But as a Black kid cheering on an all-white team, it was hard for him to dream of placing himself in their skates.
"It was a little different that I didn’t see a lot of minorities into the sport, but I knew at some point, that it probably could shift," he said.
Part of the shift started with Al Montoya, the son of a Cuban refugee. When he was selected sixth overall in the 2004 NHL Draft, Montoya became the first Spanish-speaking player in league history.
"Wayne Gretzky was my first coach, he was like the best player to ever play the game of hockey," Montoya said.
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But hockey’s progress with diversity has been slow, and in recent years, the NHL has come to embrace that reality.
In October 2022, the league released its first-ever diversity and inclusion report. What it found was that nearly 84% of its employees identified as white. No minority held more than a 5% stake in the league’s makeup.
"This wasn’t a shock to us," Montoya said. "For us, it’s an important measuring stick. For me, it’s personal, being the son of a Cuban American…growing up in a Hispanic culture and wanting to see this game flourish."
Montoya is now the director of community outreach for the Dallas Stars. One of his initiatives has been the Future Stars Program.
"We wanted to grow the game down here in diverse communities, underrepresented communities," Montoya explained.
Last year, Montoya reached out to Bethea, who is the athletic director for the Greater Dallas Boys and Girls Clubs.
Together, they have brought street hockey to hundreds of kids at the clubs Bethea oversees.
"The second they started hosting this, I wanted to join immediately," Noah Hinojos said.
[REPORTER: "How much did you know about hockey before all of this?"]
"None," Samantha Romero responded.
[REPORTER: "Do you like it?"]
"Yes," Romero said.
"It really feels like that’s life-changing, the things they’ll remember, come back years later and say, ‘Hey. I remember first time I picked up a hockey stick and played, I remember the first goal I scored,’" Bethea said.
For some kids, the program could lead them into a hockey life like the one Montoya has been blessed with.
"I grew up in YMCAs and rec centers, communities just like Boys and Girls Club," Montoya said.
For Montoya, this is way bigger than trying to find a diamond in the ruff.
"We want our arena to mirror our city. I think programs like this will lead to that, these kids will grow, look at our logo, and say this is my team," he added.
On Monday the kids were at the AAC for the team’s game on Black History Night.
For many of them, it was their first opportunity to absorb the electricity people feel in the building when the Stars take the ice.
Montoya and the franchise hope that feeling will have them hooked on fandom for life.
"It’s the dream, the hope that sports bring out of kids, attending games is such a big part of this," he said.
As for the future of the Future Stars Program?
Someday, Montoya and Bethea hope to put these kids on the ice.
"I estimate in 2-5 years, think we can get kids actually ice skating and in pads," Bethea said.
"We already have a program, Little Rookies, for six weeks get sized up, zero cost to go try out the game," Montoya said.
Donning their own Dallas jerseys, these kids can now dream of a future where they’re playing for the Stars.
"I can picture myself already playing as it right now," Hinojos said.