, viewers learn that in 1906 hockey player Eddie Martin became the first to use a technique known as the slapshot — a back swing of the stick known for its power as it makes contact with the puck.
This is one among the many vital moments of sport history marred by anti-Black racism explored in the doc, directed by Hubert Davis, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and will screen at the Vancouver International Film Festival later this month. “My first reaction was that I didn’t believe it. I had never even known we had a Coloured Hockey League,” says Davis during an interview at his Toronto office. “I grew up in Canada, but I never thought of these stories involving Black players as particularly Canadian.”and was nominated for an Oscar for the short film in 2005, wanted to spotlight the league, its contribution to hockey, and the systemic racism within the sport.
One story involves the late Herb Carnegie, a Toronto-born hockey player who is described as one of the most talented Canadian players during the 1940s and ’50s. He was only included in the Hockey Hall of Fame a full decade after his death earlier this year.