Duclair is hosting his first hockey camp in South Florida with the aim of reaching underrepresented backgrounds in the sport.
A couple weeks removed from a Stanley Cup run, Anthony Duclair is already back on the ice.
The Florida Panthers forward is busy overseeing his foundation's first hockey camp for kids aged 8-14 who come from underrepresented backgrounds this week at the Panthers Ice Den in Coral Springs, Fla.
"I made a promise back in February when I launched my foundation that this is something I wanted to do. It's one of many ideas that I had, and this is part of it," Duclair said. "My goal is to go to the game as much as I can. Just to see all the faces, all the smiles and enjoyment from these kids has been awesome.
"These kids are looking up to me and I feel I owe them my time and my knowledge. I just feel it would be selfish of me to withhold all that information to myself."
The four-day camp gives players access to eight hours of ice time, off-ice training, lunch and guest speakers. Joining Duclair on-ice to coach the kids is former Arizona Coyotes forward Boko Imama.
"This was actually planned right before the playoffs, so I was going to be here regardless of what happened with the season," Duclair said. "I'm glad it all worked out. We got 30 kids this year, kids from different backgrounds, different ethnicities."
"It's really fun," said 11-year-old Salem Bradford, who traveled 2 1/2 hours from Melbourne, Florida to take part in the camp. "I feel I've gotten better and more kids are getting their skills developed. I really like that Duclair put this camp together and I really appreciate it. It feels really special, to be honest. I like the fact that we have this opportunity."
While recovering from Achilles tendon surgery which kept him out for the first half of the 2022-23 season, Duclair worked to establish the Anthony Duclair Foundation which aims to create safe and equal access to hockey for children of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) backgrounds. He unveiled it during NHL All-Star Weekend. This week's camp is one of the many projects he's been working on since then.
Duclair said when he grew up playing in Montreal there were no other minority players on his team. When his younger brother, Christopher, played for the same team seven years later, there were three to four other Black players. While Duclair is happy to see progress, he's also eager to propel it further. South Florida, which boasts a minority-majority population, boasts a prime opportunity to learn and grow.
"I feel like if you can grow the game here, especially in South Florida, you can go anywhere," Duclair said. "We want to make sure that we teach these kids a good lesson. They come out of this week energized, happy and they learn something. They learn about diversity and inclusion, that hockey is for everyone."
When he finishes here, Duclair will return home to Montreal to host a similar camp in July. He plans to take part in Classique KR8, an annual celebrity hockey game on July 22 at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau in Boisbriand, Quebec. Kevin Raphael, President of the Premiere Hockey Federation's Montreal Force who hosts the event, hopes to raise $75,000 for Leucan, a pediatric cancer charity.
Duclair has also remained active with the Hockey Diversity Alliance, an organization founded in summer 2020 with the goal of eliminating systemic racism and tolerance in the game.
"Yeah, busy summer," Duclair remarked. "Our season just ended two weeks ago. I had a week off to relax the mind, relax the body and jump into this. I think the timing was pretty perfect, to be honest. I'm going to go back home after this week. But it's been a pretty balanced style. I'm having a lot of help from a lot of different people, so, it's definitely a great help for sure."