We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. I've always been a player that plays on enthusiasm, and I was just losing my zest for the game.". Saunders spent most of his career thinking he was the only black player out there. The Buffalo native was drafted by the Sabres 52nd overall in 2013 and began his pro career with the Sabres and Amerks. McKegney, while striving to help provide black youths more opportunity, will never forget the chance given him by Lowry McKegney, 70. Tony McKegney was born in Montreal, Canada. His father eventually returned to Nigeria, and when Tony was a year old, he was adopted by the McKegneys, a white couple that lived in Sarnia, Ontario. So that support carried over all the negative stuff that happened. All Rights Reserved. This is especially true for a sport like hockey, where community, respect, and teamwork have always been important values. Tony McKegney Goal vs. Toronto 12/13/80 - YouTube 0:00 / 0:44 Tony McKegney Goal vs. Toronto 12/13/80 Disengage 1.53K subscribers Subscribe 947 views 8 years ago Tony McKegney ties the game. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. By checking this box, I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy of Rogers Media. Hockey made me gave me all the confidence in the world.". He was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame in 1994. - Improve your search rank He became a standout in hockey while playing junior, scoring 135 points in 66 games in 1976-77. "Everything Bernie Saunders has, he earned, in spite of [whether] there's been prejudice along the way.". After playing for 15 years professionally, it was a hard transition and Im sure Ive made some mistakes and would do some things differently. by Go beyond the basics. "People just forget me because I didn't play. Tony McKegney. Get the best of our NHL coverage and exclusives delivered directly to your inbox! SN: Trevor was able to persevere. Sabres Host Lightning in Saturday Matinee. He paved the way for me. Don't miss out - sign up for our newsletters! McKegney scored 37 goals in 1980-81. "It was just time. McKegney needed less than a season to join Buffalo during the 1978-79 campaign. I know there werent very many [black players]. 1978 round 2 #32 overall by Buffalo Sabres, OMJHL Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey League, Bienvenue LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockey, Tervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiin, Vlkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sida, Vtejte na NHL.com, oficilnch strnkch National Hockey League, Vitajte na NHL.com, oficilnych strnkach National Hockey League, Willkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey League, Bienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey League. Things just felt right that year. Tony McKegney. It seemed very normal to me, and no one in our neighborhood or city really treated us any different, he said. At age 5, I started playing organized hockey. There hadnt been many blacks in the NHL when he arrived, but hopefully his talent made quite a few people color-blind. Enter Search Term. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are the property of their respective owners. He was coaching the Pickering Panthers, a Junior B team, when he suspended four players for breaking a rule and got four replacements from a lower-level team. The things he went through were things I experienced in my time. As a teenager he played Jr. 'B' hockey in Sarnia. Do you have a blog? Bailey has appeared in three games with the Canucks this season and was placed on injured reserve on February 12 with an upper-body injury. NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. He has no evidence, he says, but he figures race had something to do with it. He retired from the NHL in 1991 with 320 goals and 639 points. My older brother, Mike, was drafted in the NHL, first black player ever drafted by the Montreal Canadians. If you said Tony McKegney, you are correct. Height, Weight & Physical Stats: Tony McKegney is 6 feet 1 inches tall and weight 90.7 kilograms. Id like to make the best of the last couple of years.. His point production dropped off, but he was still eventually called up to the big club. But I had a rink in my backyard, my own playground. Brent Jarrett played with him in Kalamazoo, Mich.,that season. He was told teams were interested in trading for him, but the Nordiques didn't let him go. However, the team now had a new farm team, the Fredericton Express, and the organization wanted Saunders to play there. Coming into the next season, he thought he was a shoo-in to make the team. Enter Search Term. I remember the dedication that my parents put into it when we were younger, driving us to rinks at 7 in the morning, he said. One house seemed perfect for me and my wife, Sue. TM: We never really talked about it much. I showed up there and I remember sitting on my adoptive mothers knee and looking out the dining room window at this ice rink. Want to more about Him? Approaching the All-Star break, McKegney led the club with 26 goals. He has three 30-goal seasons. Only once has he played in fewer than 60 of the regular season's 80 games. Tony McKegney is a member of famous Ice Hockey list. Saunders was sent back to the minors, without any explanation. Did that ever dissuade you at all from getting into the game? SN: Trevor Daley went through a difficult, racially insensitive experience with John Vanbiesbrouck. SN: Was there a brotherhood among the black players in the league? At the same time, he's disappointed that he's been excluded from conversations about the first black players in the NHL. Jarome Iginla gave me a very nice compliment when he said he felt he was at home on the ice and in the school yard, because he could say, Hey, Tony McKegney, hes playing in the NHL. He felt like he belonged on a hockey rink because I was out there. But he was reassigned to the minors. Mike Harrington: His team looks good, even without Alex Tuch. INDIANAPOLIS Along with the change in defensive coordinator with Leslie Frazier deciding to "take a step back," Bills General Manager Brando, The Buffalo Sabres' mostly injury-free season at forward took a decidedly darker turn Saturday night when the club placed top-line right winge, Frazier, who turns 64 in April, plans to return to coaching in 2024, the Bills said. Obviously, I know Im on the back 9 - if you want to compare it to golf. Draft: Buffalo, 2nd round (32nd overall), 1978 NHL Amateur. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2023. Drafted 1974, 1 #2 overall by Kingston Canadians in the OHL Priority Selection, Cult/Star player for Kingston Frontenacs. 'I loved the game, but the game didn't love me': How hockey shaped one of NHL's first black players on and off the ice | CBC News Loaded. And I just thought to myself, What are they doing out there? And I couldnt wait to go out there and join them at a year-and-a-half. He sat down with Donnovan Bennett to discuss the struggles, success and lessons that came. While in Fredericton, he says the coach told him he may play a couple dozen games at the NHL level, but his main role would be to tutor the other players. "I loved the game, but the game didn't love me.". Buy his book. "One of the nicest things I hear from young people is they felt because I was there playing they felt they could be accepted in hockey," McKegney told The Buffalo News in 2017. "The theme for the next few days is clear: Hey Kevyn, the lonely eyes of Sabres fans are turned to you,"Mike Harrington writes. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Editor's note: As part of the NHL celebrating Black History Month throughout February, NHL.com will present first-person essays by some of the game's key Black players and executives. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. But on the ice, Saunders was still alone. His best season came with the St. Louis Blues in 1987-88, when he had NHL career highs of 40 goals and 78 points. Saunders doesn't want to come off as someone lamenting what could have been. Not a lot from opposing, players, but more so from fans, that they just couldnt handle the fact that the pure white sport, was being dominated by a black kid and that was me. Its basically black children. "I could deal with it individually, but to see my son go through it was just overwhelming.". AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Its just something I never envisioned when I was growing up seeing five black hockey players playing in the same game. Hes been an All-Star. . Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. At the age of 20, Tony signed a contract with the now defunct World Hockey Associations (WHA) team in Birmingham, Alabama only to see the owner illegally renege on the deal after fans threatened to boycott the team for having added a black player to its roster. He became a standout in hockey while playing junior, scoring 135 points in 66 games in 1976-77. Browse 82 tony mckegney stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Bernie Saunders played 10 games for the Quebec Nordiques, but he and others say his career would have been longer if he wasnt black. He got out of his contract, went back to Michigan and started playing for the Kalamazoo Wings, an International Hockey League team, while establishing himself at Upjohn, a pharmaceutical company. He learned to fight, to defend himself, but mainly he tried to keep scoring. He was following in the footsteps of his older brother Ian McKegney (who had been a star with the Sarnia Legionnaires before moving on to the pros). Next, select your favourite teams and leagues and well show you their latest news and scores in the My Favourites section of the home page. Today we look at former NHL forward Tony McKegney. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. He believes his call up was a reward for his performance in the minors. Most of his limited NHL experience came with Buffalo; he also had a brief stint with the Philadelphia Flyers and their AHL affiliate. He even scored 40 goals for St. Louis in 1987-88. He was a 4x 30-goal scorer and set career highs in 1988 with 40 . All rights reserved. Early Life and Family: Education: Tony McKegney Net Worth: All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. He heard the N-word on the ice and from fans in the stands, and opponents always made sure to finish their checks on him. He played in Detroit for only 14 games before being traded back to the Quebec Nordiques on December 4, 1989 in exchange for Robert Picard and Greg Adams. It takes time to grow a sport, he says, and now young black kids have something he didn't: the opportunity to play the game they love with people who look like them, and to see more than one black person playing it at the highest level. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. And I'll always be proud of the 40-goal season I had in 1987-88, the wonderful camaraderie of that Blues team, and the little chip-in that somehow found its way into the net. McKegney was 20, playing junior hockey for Kingston in the Ontario Hockey Association, when the Buffalo Sabres made him their second-round choice in the 1978 draft. Born 1958-02-15 in Montral, Quebec. Until we get rinks in the inner (American) cities, I dont think thats going to change.. TM: Everything. Sorry we could not verify that email address. After playing in 64 games for the Rangers, Tony was traded to the St. Louis Blues on May 28, 1987 along with Rob Whistle in exchange for Bruce Bell and future considerations. His NHL career ended with nine games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1990-91, but he went on to play for the Canadian National Team, overseas in Italy with Varese HC and in the IHL with the San Diego Gulls before hanging up the skates in 1993.