Graeme Townshend, the Islanders' first Black player, now runs a hockey school in Maine where he once played for the Maine Mariners. Credit: Portland Press Herald via Getty
Graeme Townshend learned early not to let others crush his dreams.
Townshend, the first Black player to wear an Islanders uniform, fell in love with hockey when he was 8 years old and playing with neighborhood kids on an abandoned parking lot the city of Toronto had flooded. Townshend’s parents, who had immigrated to Canada from Kingston, Jamaica, knew little about the game but encouraged him to follow his dreams.