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July 6, 2025
The National Hockey League’s draft highlighted increasing diversity within the sport as a record number of players of color were drafted.
The National Hockey League’s recent draft highlighted increasing diversity within the sport, marking a notable shift in a league where, just three years ago, 84% of players, coaches, and front office staff were white.
In 2023, the NHL launched its version of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity campaign, the Hockey Diversity Alliance, a group whose seeds were planted in the wake of the 2020 murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The initial chairs of the group were former NHL players P.K. Subban and Anson Carter, both of whom are Black. The aim of the group is to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment so that one of the NHL’s slogans, “Hockey is for Everyone,” is more than an advertising campaign.
On draft night, the work that the diversity alliance has put in over the last two years bore fruit, as more than 20 future NHL players from diverse backgrounds were selected in the NHL Draft.
Kashawn Aitcheson was selected number 17 overall by the New York Islanders and by virtue of his position as a top 20 pick, is seen by the organization as a player they can build around and although his big bodychecks are sure to garner highlights, he is seen as a valuable piece of the team’s potential offensive production, per Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche.
“Kashawn, (you) notice all his hits online, fine, but look at him, he’s almost a point-a-game guy in juniors,” Darche told NHL.com.
Bill Zonnon, a 6’2 185 pound winger who also has flashed the positional flexibility to play center, was chosen with pick 22 by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Zonnon is the son of Canadian immigrants who hail from Togo, and Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas is excited by the prospect’s ability to quickly thrive when he was inserted into the lineup at center. Zonnon still has some development to do, so he will play at Blainville-Boisbriand while he develops towards cracking the NHL roster.
“I think the thing that was most exciting to us was that he really thrived when he moved to center,” Dubas told NHL.com. “He was excellent at center. Plays in all situations. Plays against the other team’s best players. And as the year went on, it was just his competitiveness, especially in the playoffs for them, was really a driver for his team.”
Carter Amico, a 6’5 225 pound two-way defenseman who has the physical presence associated with his position, was selected in the second round by the Philadelphia Flyers. The 18-year-old Amico has signed a letter of intent to play for Boston University during the 2026-2027 season, and envisions himself in the mold of Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic.
“Seth Jones is a two-way defenseman like me, but I thought this year I was leaning more on the defensive side,” Amico told NHL.com. “But overall, you can play both sides of the puck, you can defend, you can kill, big, tall right-handed as well. Vlasic, you know, really good defensive presence, shutdown plays, good entry into the house.”
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