Growing up in Quebec during the 2010s, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph’s choice for an idol was obvious.
P.K. Subban.
A tall, lanky and dynamic blue-liner who had an effervescent personality that could light up a nuclear submarine, Subban was a star countless Quebecois youth gravitated to during his tenure as a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
Beyond those attributes, Subban was appealing to Joseph for another reason.
He looked like him.
A Black man in a sport that is overwhelmingly white, Subban was a beacon of hope for Joseph, the son of a Haitian immigrant.
“I’ve always looked up to Black athletes (as a kid),” said Joseph, now 22. “Growing up in Montreal, when P.K. was there, I was looking up to him for a while.”
On Tuesday, Joseph served as a guest instructor for the Penguins’ Willie O’Ree Academy, an initiative that offers guidance for Black youth players in the Pittsburgh area.
Joseph flew in from Quebec on Tuesday, arriving at 1 a.m. to participate in the academy in Cranberry. He was scheduled to fly home Wednesday at 6 a.m.
The reason he parachuted in was vivid: “I hope I can be their P.K. Subban one day.”
While youth hockey in Quebec is considerably different than in Pittsburgh, Joseph shared a very common connection with those he interacted with Tuesday.
“Their faces meant everything to me,” Joseph said. “Their eyes got big, the smiles on everyone’s face. How can you not be happy to be there with these kids and have some fun for an hour? Questions on where are you from, how was it growing up, stuff like that. It’s easy for me to talk to them about stuff like that and give them advice on how to react about negative stuff that will happen on the ice, off the ice, stuff like that.”
Joseph encountered the sad reality of racism as a youth. But he and his brother, Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph, found ways to insulate themselves from the blight of bigotry.
“We really didn’t care about that kind of stuff growing up,” P.O Joseph said. “You know it’s going to come here and there on the ice, off the ice. It was cool at the rink, watching games and all. Really, we just surrounded ourselves with great people that didn’t care about our skin color. We didn’t really have that (many) problems growing up. I felt like our family would protect ourselves from stuff like that. We just think that people that think that of Black people are ignorant people.
“And we don’t really have time for that.”
The academy is named in recognition of former Boston Bruins forward Willie O’Ree. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, O’Ree was the first Black player in NHL history, making his debut in January of 1958.
Despite being separated by a chasm of generations, O’Ree’s name resonates with Joseph.
“Every time I ask someone if (they know) Willie O’Ree, and their answer is no, I try to teach them a little bit about him,” Joseph said. “He means so much for us as far as being able to play in this league. Being the first is never easy. In baseball, Jackie Robinson, (it) wasn’t easy. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Willie back then too, having the slurs at him and stuff like that. It was new for the world to have Black players in the NHL. He just opened the path for us. Our goal for the next Black athletes that come into pro leagues is to do the same thing as he did.”
The Joseph family has made some inroads toward that goal. A member of the Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams in 2020 and this year, Mathieu is one of the relatively few Black players to have his name inscribed on the trophy.
“It’s a huge achievement for him,” P.O Joseph said. “I was able to get to Tampa in time to watch a game. To see him raise the Cup at the end of the year was priceless. I would have done it if it was in Australia.
“There’s not a lot of Black names on this Cup. Hopefully, the future will bring more and more diversity on this Cup.”
P.O. Joseph would like to add his name to the Stanley Cup. But first, he has to break through as a full-time NHL-er. Last season, he made his NHL debut, appearing in 16 games and scoring five points (one goal, four assists).
Despite being one of the organization’s top prospects, the path to a regular-roster spot isn’t wide open for Joseph because of the Penguins having a surplus of NHL-caliber left-handed defensemen.
“When you get a little taste of something good, you want more,” Joseph said. “I for sure want to stay with this team for the rest of the year and the next couple of years as well. I know it’s not easy. There’s a lot of great players there. I’ve just got to get ready for camp and show the best version of yourself.”
In some respects, he already has.
“My goal is to make an impact on the ice but also off the ice,” Joseph said. “Little stuff like that will make a great impact on the community. I feel like it’s our job, too, as professional athletes, to show the young kids and the next generation that everybody can reach their dream.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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