Willie Eldon ORee CM ONB born October 15 1935 is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player best known for being the first black player in the National Hockey League ORee played as a winger for the Boston Bruins ORee is referred to as the Jackie Robinson of ice hockey for breaking the black colour barrier in the sport1 and has stated publicly that he had met Jackie Robinson when he was younger 23 He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2018