Greenway is hoping to be a trailblazer

– Jordan Greenway (right), the first African-American US Olympic ice hockey player, hopes to inspire black youth to his sport the way Tiger Woods did in golf or Serena Williams has in tennis.

“I just really want kids out there to do something different, go against the colour barrier in the sports world,” Greenway said. “You see African-American players in other sports like basketball and football. I want kids to go and try something different.”

The 20-year-old Boston University star forward is one of four collegians in the US squad and helped the Americans win the 2017 World Junior Championships, scoring three goals and setting up five

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“It’s a proud feeling to win a gold medal for the USA and I want to have that feeling again on the biggest stage,” Greenway said.

“Winning a gold medal is a feeling you can’t put into words. That’s motivating me every day to work hard. I couldn’t be more excited. I always had a dream to play in the Olympics. I didn’t think it was going to happen.”

Greenway has his chance because the National Hockey League, which had shut down for every Winter Olympics since 1998 so players could compete there, decided against the move this season, opening the door for Europe-based talent, minor-leaguers and top collegians. –