This was not an executive who had a reputation for telling players to keep their hair short. But in this circumstance, let’s unpack what good really seemed to mean in that context. Now, I’m all for different opinions when it comes to style - everyone’s entitled to their perspective, and guys on the ice were definitely chirping me about my hair at that time. Here’s an example: In the second half of my NHL career, when my locs grew very long, a high-level member of the front office for my team at the time told me point-blank: “Carter, you should cut your hair.
So, yeah, during my career I found out that, unfortunately, there were people in the hockey world who thought locs couldn’t be - or shouldn’t be - an option for players in the National Hockey League. But when you put them in the context of hockey culture, where players are conditioned to fit in at all costs? My hair was definitely breaking the rules by standing out. These are stereotypes in everyday society. You’ve heard them - the idea that if someone has locs, they’re probably a criminal, or a bad person, or not very clean. Not to mention the added assumptions specifically for dreadlocks. Maybe it’s not always stated outright, but the subliminal messages are there: If you want to be respected, or taken seriously, or seen as “professional,” traditional Black hairstyles and natural hair aren’t the way to go. And no matter where you look in society, it’s hard to ignore the reality that Black hair is often seen as political. And then, about a year into the afro era, my sister, Michelle, casually dropped a suggestion: “Why don’t you twist your hair? You know, lock it up and see what happens?”Įxcept it couldn’t be that simple, right? Because most things about being a Black hockey player aren’t. At one point that year, my teammates ended up betting me $10,000 that I wouldn’t grow an afro … which is how my afro phase started. That phase lasted through my first season with Boston. Then, when Michael Jordan was at the peak of his excellence, I wanted to emulate MJ. For most of my life, I’ve been my own barber - I even used to cut other kids’ hair in the neighborhood, calling myself “Cut Carter.” In my freshman year at Michigan State University, I went with a high-top fade, because I was really into Kid ’n Play (… that’s a whole other story).
KEEP IT PLAYER PRO
From there, that was my hair in pro hockey for the next 10 seasons.Īnd I swear, at the time, my brain was just looking at it as a new style. It may not have been successful, but after I made it through that game, I never looked back.
I looked over at Burnsie and our assistant coach, Jacques Laperrière, who were both getting a kick out of the attempt. When I got out on the ice for the national anthem – with my helmet in my hand and 17,000 fans staring at me - I remember finding a spot on the blue line as close to our bench as possible. Then came his reaction: “Oh, you’re definitely starting tonight.” To this day, I can still see the look he gave me - big eyes, like a real-life emoji. Of course, it was just my luck that I arrived at the exact same moment as our head coach, Pat Burns. But I didn’t tell any of my coaches or teammates about it, so I actually remember that I tried sneaking into our locker room that night before anyone could notice. I didn’t think it’d be a big deal at the time, or that there might be a negative response. So I spent two hours one game day afternoon at a salon in Dorchester having a loctician separate each section of my hair into locs, applying beeswax to help it lock up fast and tight. Well, in that case, the answer is: It’s complicated.ĭuring my second season with the Bruins, I wanted to change up my look. Anyone who saw young Jumbo Joe must have been thinking the same thing: “That guy’s got pretty sweet flow.”īut what if you play hockey and your hair is different from nearly everyone else’s in the league? What if you’re Black? What if your hockey hair just so happens to be … dreadlocks? Even during my time in the league, when Joe Thornton got drafted by the Bruins, I remember this big gangly kid who had these huge blonde curly locks flowing out of his helmet.
KEEP IT PLAYER FULL
I remember watching legends like Wayne Gretzky and Jaromír Jágr go full business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back in their mullet eras. I remember, when I was growing up, seeing Guy Lafleur skating down the ice, his hair billowing in the wind. Whatever you want to call it, there’s just something iconic and even majestic about the hairstyles that have become synonymous with hockey.
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