After feeling isolated for many years by the NHL and working to make the sport more diverse, Akim Aliu is getting another opportunity to play professional hockey, this time with the San Jose Sharks’ minor league affiliate.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier told reporters at the GM meetings in Florida on Wednesday that he has offered Aliu a tryout contract with the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda for the rest of the season.
The 34-year-old Aliu, who plays defense, confirmed the tryout in a text to The Associated Press, saying he had just arrived in California.
“It’s significant. I’ve always been proud of doing things the right way morally, and I never gave up during tough times,” Aliu wrote.
“Extremely blessed to get this opportunity.”
Aliu last played professionally at the end of the 2019-20 season with Litvinov HC in the Czech Republic’s top league and finished with one goal and two assists in six games. He was born in Nigeria to mixed-race parents and then lived in Ukraine before his family eventually settled in the Toronto suburbs, where he started playing hockey.
Aliu is a journeyman minor leaguer who is well-known for addressing racism in hockey. He gained attention by making two life-changing posts on social media in November 2019, which led to Bill Peters’ sudden resignation as coach of the Calgary Flames.
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THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Larry MacDougal
Aliu revealed Peters bullied and used racist language towards him when they were in the minors a decade earlier. Peters resigned days later, and Aliu’s revelations led to the NHL implementing a personal conduct policy to combat racism in a sport that has historically been dominated by white players.
The confrontation with Peters, as well as being the target of a hazing incident during his time in junior hockey, led Aliu to believe his career was limited because NHL teams had labeled him as a troublemaker.
Aliu, who was selected in the second round of the 2007 draft by Chicago, spent most of his 13 seasons moving from one minor league team to another. He only appeared in seven NHL games with the Flames over two seasons.
Although Aliu had not officially retired from hockey, he co-founded a players-supported Hockey Diversity Alliance to raise awareness and make hockey more accessible to minorities and underprivileged youth.
Aliu, who grew up in poverty, used to buy second-hand equipment and take public transportation to practices and games across Toronto.
Last year, Scholastic and the publishing company of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick released a graphic novel that tells Aliu’s story titled: Akim Aliu Dreamer: Growing Up Black in the World of Hockey.
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David Leyes via AP
