Center Ice Spotlight: Kevin Peterson | Buffalo New York

I am from Buffalo, New York. I am a Sports Management Major at Niagara County Community College, and plan to be the first black commissioner of the NHL. Although I was a baseball player most of my life, I always loved hockey. I always played on the streets with kids I knew and I had this natural draw to the sport, I just never found my way in the ice until I was 20. I gave it up playing baseball, bought all the hockey equipment I needed and started to practice. Now at 22, I am working hard to play professionally anywhere in the world.

I wanted to be a brand ambassador for HPOC Because I wanted to help shed light on the amount of black players and members of the hockey community. Finding this movement has reassured me of my gut feeling; that I must be part of the revolution of hockey culture. I look forward to connecting with other members of the organization and creating bonds and friendships that will help change the way we are seen in the sport.

My hobby is listening music. I listen to a mix of everything, it helps give me a different view of the world around me.

If I could sit down with any player it would be PK Subban. He is a big inspiration to my game, and my nickname is KP so it would be really cool for us to meet and learn a lot from him.

A key point of advice for me has been to always be yourself. It’s the only way to really be happy.

My dream for hockey as a whole is for it to be inclusive to everyone, the way it should be. For communities of color to have full access to the sport all over the county and make hockey as popular as basketball, even more popular. This sport has so much room to grow, and I want to help make that growth happen.