Making their mark: Latinos in hockey | USA Hockey Pacific District

The need for diversity has been something that has plagued the NHL for much longer than their Hockey Is For Everyone initiative has been around. Latino communities in particular haven’t seen themselves reflected in the world of hockey until recently. The first Latino NHL player, Bill Guerin, who is of Nicaraguan descent, was drafted in 1989. Another Latino player wouldn’t be drafted until Scott Gomez in 1998. As it stands right now, there’s still only a handful of Latino players in the NHL; among them are Al Montoya, Max Pacioretty, and Alec Martinez.