Moezine Hasham: "I knew about who Larry [Kwong] was. I didn't know the depth of his story, but I knew that he had broken into the NHL.
When you look at his career and how he even gets to New York Rangers, he's showcasing it through his skill. But there's a lot of barriers for him.
The racism and discrimination that he would have faced at that time, that fact that he just continued to play and he had a successful career as a pro for many years, not only here in Canada, but also in Europe, that's what's really remarkable.
And if it wasn't for discrimination and racism, Larry would have remained in the #NHL. We know that. We see that with Herb Carnegie's story, and we see that with Willie O'Ree's story.
There are just these barriers that existed at that time and that continue to exist in some way, shape or form today. But then after his career as a player in North America is done, he goes to Switzerland, he goes to England, he plays there.
He, in fact, coaches and plays in Switzerland in five cities. And that's where he really cements himself as a perfect person to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He's building the game of hockey in Europe as an Asian player facing those barriers that exist for him.
And that's what makes him perfect for the #Hockey Hall of Fame in the builder category. Because the builder category is not about just your stats on the ice, but it's about what did you do for the game."
[Watch ‘Petition to put Chinese Canadian NHL player into the Hall of Fame’ on CityNews]