Former Panthers forward aiming to make hockey more accessible in underserved communities
© Courtesy Anthony Duclair Foundation
By George Richards
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
February 12, 2025
LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla. — Anthony Duclair announced two years ago during 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend in South Florida he was forming a charitable foundation committed to making hockey more inclusive, combating racism in the game and growing the sport in the region.
A year later, the former Florida Panthers forward attended a groundbreaking ceremony at Boyd H. Anderson High School for the first synthetic outdoor ice sheet in Broward County.
On Wednesday, Duclair celebrated the opening of the new rink, with the City of Lauderdale Lakes proclaiming Feb. 12, 2025, “Anthony Duclair Day.”
“I couldn’t wait for this day to happen. I am very excited,” Duclair said before cutting the ceremonial ribbon at center ice. “I want to say how much it means to be standing here, especially in a community that has shown me so much love, and to celebrate something really special today. …
“I’m going to be here. I played here with the Panthers for three years, and you guys really left a mark on my family and me. So, I decided it’s my home.”
Duclair, who now plays for the New York Islanders, spent three seasons with the Panthers (2020-23).
He slipped on his skates and took to the new ice surface and played a little hockey with the youth players who went outdoors to play in the Florida sunshine. He was joined by friend and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bokondji Imama.
“We have talked about this for years now going back to the launch gala in 2023,” Duclair said. “I made a promise to South Florida, and this is me fulfilling that promise. This is going to be the first of many. I am just glad it went according to plan, and we can keep building things up. To see the kids, and the smiles on their faces, is something special.”
Duclair and Imama hold youth development camps in South Florida and Montreal during the summer, with plans to bring those kids outdoors for a couple of workouts at the high school.
Boyd Anderson High School Principal James F. Griffin II said bringing an outdoor rink to his school in suburban Fort Lauderdale is “breathtaking,” and that the new facility will help grow the game in his working-class community.
Boyd Anderson High School is located in a large Haitian community, with 98 percent of its students considered minorities.
“I’m from Montreal, Canada, and I have a Haitian background,” Duclair said. “Playing hockey, you don’t see too many people of my skin color playing this game. I went through a lot of hardships and learned a lot of things from a young age, and it made me the man I am today. So, I am here to share those experience with these kids, these students, and make sure that whatever they want to do in life, make sure no one can tell them they can’t do it.”
Griffin said not only would the Boyd Anderson High School students have the opportunity to learn hockey on the new ice surface, but students at neighboring Oriole Elementary and Lauderdale Lakes Middle schools will too.
“Just saying ‘ice hockey’ in Florida is something that is amazing,” Griffin said. “So, to see this come to fruition, to see kids actually be outside on ice skates, is just phenomenal. You saw the kids and how they’re enjoying this. Once you bring the opportunity to them, they take it. We have made the impossible, possible, here today.”
The Duclair Foundation joined with the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund to construct the 100-by-50-foot rink, which is made of Glice North America synthetic ice panels.
The Industry Growth Fund funded the rink’s construction, and the NHLPA Goals & Dreams Fund donated $50,000 to purchase sticks, pads, helmets, goal cages and skates for use on the rink.
“We’re excited this is the first one, and we’re excited to do it with Anthony,” said Rob Knesaurek, NHL senior vice president, community development and industry growth. “We’re just excited to see these kids have this wonderful journey and we are here to support them along the way.”
The Panthers also have pledged to continue working with Duclair, as have the San Jose Sharks, with whom Duclair spent much of last season.
Duclair and Imama were joined at the new rink by representatives from the NHL and NHL Players’ Association, as well as Broward County school board members, and the Lauderdale Lakes city government.
“We wanted to target a neighborhood with people who looked like me, people of Haitian descent, which is very important to me,” Duclair said. “I wanted to put this in a neighborhood where people didn’t really follow hockey, or even watch hockey. This is now a pathway, an opportunity to introduce the game and hopefully the kids here run away with it. Or they learn something from it, get inspired by it. Anything they can take away from this hockey rink is the goal here.
“I was a Haitian kid just like these students we saw here today, and I was one of them not too long ago. Whatever they go through in life, I think through perseverance, leadership and hard work, you can accomplish anything. … This project is close to my heart. I am thankful to everyone who helped make it happen.”
