75 years ago, a Chinese-Canadian broke the NHL colour barrier. Do you know his name?

In a time when Chinese Canadians did not have the right to vote, a Chinese-Canadian kid from Vernon, B.C. was excelling on the ice. 

For Chad Soon the stories of his hockey hero often seemed impossible to find.

“My grandfather told me about Larry Kwong when I was younger. My grandfather grew up in Vancouver’s Chinatown where he was a huge hero,” Soon recalls. “I would search for stories in my hockey books and hockey magazines but I could never find anything.”

It struck Soon, an elementary teacher from Vernon, B.C., that something needed to change.

In a time when Chinese Canadians did not have the right to vote, when the Chinese Exclusion Act prevented people of Chinese origin from immigrating to Canada, a Chinese-Canadian kid from British Columbia was excelling on the ice.

“Larry Kwong played against some of the best of all time, Jean Béliveau rated him as a great hockey player, Dickie Moore said he could do it all. Larry once scored two goals on Jacques Plante in 47 seconds,” said Soon.

In 1946, Kwong began playing with the New York Rovers, the New York Rangers’ farm team. He was the leading scorer and packed Madison Square Gardens with fans from the city’s Chinese community. There were rumours that year that Kwong would get called up to the NHL but it didn’t happen.

“Player after player got called up ahead of him. I think (the NHL) was afraid of change.”

Kwong would have to wait two long years but on March 13, 1948, his time finally came and for one single shift, Kwong skated in the NHL, a  New York Ranger at the Montreal Forum.