Are there any openly gay nhl players

In Julyhe became the first drafted-and-signed NHL player to come out, and his life has transformed since that moment. Around maybe 12, 13, I started to realize I was a pretty good hockey player and maybe I could create something out of it. I was questioning a lot of things at the time.

A year ago, defenseman Luke Prokop was lost. I didn't really know a whole ton about it. When I moved to Kelowna at 14 to improve my stock for the Bantam draft, moved away from home with a different group of guys, that was around the time when I started to realize I may be a bit different in terms of my sexuality.

Milwaukee Admirals 39 Luke

He played from a very young age, my dad played, both my grandparents played from a decently young age. So that's what made me more of a defenseman than a forward. A year later, truly everything has changed for Prokop, 19, who now plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings.

You may recall that Prokop became the first openly gay player in the NHL when he came out in While he technically hasn't played an NHL game, he was under NHL contract with the Nashville Predators when he made his announcement on social media.

They’ve had two openly gay active players () When Luke Prokop came out inhe became the NHL’s first openly queer prospect player. THN: Did you always know you were going to be a defenseman, or did you ever think about playing any other position?

So it was just natural that I would get into the sport. He was a Nashville Predators draft pick with nowhere to play, as the pandemic had delayed the start of the WHL season. What is Prokop up to now, and how does he feel about the response since he came out?

The Edmonton native was taken in the third round (#73 overall) of the NHL Draft by Nashville. The language was definitely an issue, but to see nobody openly out in the sport was hard, to not have someone to look up to who was currently playing in the NHL or playing professional hockey.

I try to emulate a lot of his playing style and put it into my game. What's changed about his hockey career day to day? The NHL stands alone among the Big 4 men's pro team sports with no out gay players, active or retired, in history.

When I look back at my childhood, hockey was always a staple. He was at home — and weighing whether to tell the world he was gay. My brother is two years older than me. Ever since the Olympics in Vancouver was when I started really to focus on his game and see a lot of similarities between me and him.

But there is hope. I started to get more and more comfortable with it as I as I aged into my teens. Edmonton Oil Kings blueliner Prokop, the first player under NHL contract to come out, caught up with the Hockey News to chronicle how his life has changed since he shared his story with the world.

Luke Prokop is the

I never had interest in playing the other positions. THN: Did you know you were gay at a young age, or is it something you came to realize later in your teens? From a young age, it was more my dad who realized that I tended to stay back a little bit more than trying to rush off and get a bunch of goals.

THN: Given the documented history of homophobia in hockey culture, were you ever hesitant to keep playing when you were in your closeted years?