Akim Aliu faces off against hockey's harsh realities in graphic memoir for kids

Hockey hasn't always been kind to former professional player Akim Aliu, but he loved the game too much to quit.

"I had so much love for the game ... that I didn't let any of those other things bother me," he told The Sunday Magazine's Piya Chattopadhyay.

For Aliu, those "other things" included dealing with racism and facing the consequences when he spoke up about the treatment — which got him labelled a "difficult" player. Among his challenges, he fought an Ontario Hockey League teammate in response to severe hazing that he refused to participate in and faced racial slurs from one of his own coaches.

Aliu, who was born in Nigeria and spent his early years in Ukraine, had a professional career that spanned 12 years and included stints in the United States, Sweden and with the NHL's Calgary Flames.

Now 33, he wants to inspire the next generation of hockey players, while also preparing them for some social issues they might confront along the way.

Aliu's new graphic memoir, Dreamer, which gets its title from his nickname as a child, illustrates his relationship with hockey — from the highs of scoring to the lows of intolerance.

The book, for children aged eight to 12, was co-authored by Greg Anderson Elysée, and illustrated by Marcus Williams and Karen De la Vega. It was released on Feb. 7.

"I want kids to know that, hey, you're going to deal with trials and tribulations, but it shouldn't deter you to get to where you want to be," Aliu said.

Like many young immigrants in Canada, Aliu experienced obstacles to playing hockey after the family moved to Toronto in 1997. Along with not being able to speak English, he faced the cost of new hockey equipment and cultural barriers.

For Aliu, whose father is Nigerian and mother is Ukrainian, playing hockey meant wearing second-hand equipment and dealing with the view at the time that "hockey is for white people."

But with the encouragement of his parents — who Aliu said taught him to speak up when he saw injustice — he kept on skating.

"I was on the ice and I was enjoying myself, and I knew that I had the opportunity to do something special with it if I dedicated myself to it."

One of Aliu's most difficult trials came at the hands of one of his teammates.

In his rookie OHL season, Aliu was cross-checked by Windsor Spitfires teammate Steve Downie during a practice session, and the two then fought.