London 'Rich Black hockey history': BIOPIC hockey card collection on display at Memorial Cup Share Dean Barnes loves to show off his hockey card collection. “This is cards of 100 black and biracial players who have played at least one NHL game over the period of starting with Willie O’Ree from 1958 to present time,” said Barnes, who had his cards on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit at the Memorial Cup in Saginaw, Mich. Growing up in the 1970s and 80s, Barnes only had a few role models in professional hockey.
“My connection is with Tony McKegney, who grew up in Sarnia and played for the Buffalo Sabres,” added Barnes. The writer, speaker, and podcaster from the GTA has believed to be the biggest BIOPIC hockey card collection. “It's so special because diversity and inclusion is so important,” said Barnes.
“Like many other sports, there's many people look up to someone who looks like them. This collection is important for people to have an opportunity to look at stars like Jarome Iginla. Iginla once said that he wanted to be NHL because he knew Tony McKegney played hockey.
” Dean Barnes holds an Isiah George card on May 31, 2024. George is a defenceman with the London Knights. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) Barnes is often invited to take his collection all over North America.
This week, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) asked him to put it on display at its national championship. “It’s about raising awareness and amplifying the rich black hockey histo.
