This Juneteenth, we celebrate African American freedom and achievement. We encourage you to take some time to reflect and learn today. We will also thread some information on the Coloured Hockey League, a league that helped pave the way for hockey as we know it today.

The Coloured Hockey League was formed in 1895 by the sons and grandsons of escaped slaves. These players pioneered the game of hockey, broke barriers, and paved the way for future black hockey players.

Damon Kwame Mason ( @kwamster007), filmmaker for "Soul on Ice: Past, Present, Future": "When I learned about the Coloured Hockey League I was blown away…

...It was a league where Blacks were first-generation slaves that came across the Underground Railroad and wanted to do what everyone in the area was doing and they picked up the game of hockey...

...America talks a lot about the Negro Baseball League and Canada should be talking more about the Coloured Hockey League because that's the first organized sport for blacks in North America."

Learn more:

Soul on Ice documentary - detailing the history of black players in hockey: http://soulonicemovie.com 

Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes: https://pens.pe/3erKzvL 

@BlackGirlHockey Juneteenth celebration: https://pens.pe/30VkGAo 

Some additional video resources that will air tonight on @NHLNetwork https://twitter.com/NHLNetwork/status/1273978849399898112

Tonight, PPG Paints Arena was lit up in commemoration of Juneteenth.

Here are some more resources and stories so you can keep reading and learning →
NHL landing page: http://nhl.com/thisishockey/change
Lost hockey history: http://pens.pe/3ejex4L