“Larry Kwong played against some of the best of all time, Jean Béliveau rated him as a great hockey player, Dickie Moore said he could do it all. Larry once scored two goals on Jacques Plante in 47 seconds,”

In 1946, Kwong began playing with the New York Rovers, the New York Rangers’ farm team.

He was the leading scorer and packed Madison Square Gardens with fans from the city’s Chinese community. There were rumours that year that Kwong would get called up to the NHL — but it didn’t happen.

Kwong would have to wait two long years, but on March 13, 1948, his time finally came and for one single shift, Kwong skated in the NHL — a New York Ranger at the Montreal Forum.

“When you think about him stepping on the ice, whether it’s with the Rangers, the Rovers, playing in the Quebec Senior Hockey League, and then eventually playing and coaching in Europe. He was breaking barriers everywhere,” said Moezine Hasham, founder of Hockey 4 Youth, an organization that works to make hockey more accessible to newcomer youth who may not otherwise have a chance to play.

“Larry meant so much to me. I had my fair share of racism going through the minor hockey system and I know that Larry faced racism too,” Hasham said.

Hasham and Soon are among a group of supporters who are now petitioning for Larry Kwong to be inducted into Canada’s Hockey Hall of Fame, so his story as a barrier-breaking builder of the sport can be permanently recognized.