From a passion project started during the pandemic to an award-winning podcast, My Hockey Hero, this is the story of Dean Barnes, the OHA’s latest “Local Legend.”
By – David McPherson
Cambridge, ON – In the late 1960s, Barnes’ parents arrived in Southern Ontario from Jamaica via England. Like many immigrants that settled in Canada from warmer climes, hockey was a new sport.
“My dad was a cricket player and my mom competed in track and field,” he says. “In my formative years we lived in Burlington and our house was close to the local public school. From my earliest days, I played road hockey with my older brother and all of his friends.”
Hockey was part of Canadian culture and Barnes’ family embraced it; Dean learned to skate not long after he learned to walk; he then played organized hockey beginning in elementary school. By Atom (U10), Barnes made the local AAA team, which he continued to play on until his last two years of secondary school when his team, Aldershot High School, was one of the top squads in the province, making the provincial playoffs.
After graduating with a BA in Recreation and Leisure Studies, from the University of Waterloo, where Barnes played one year for the Kitchener Junior Dutchmen and one year during the 1990-91 collegiate season as a fourth-liner on a stacked squad, he attended teacher’s college at the University of Toronto and then taught high school for many years. Eventually, he returned to U of T to complete his PhD in Education. Following a stint as a high school principal, Barnes’ day job now is a superintendent with the Halton District School Board. Barnes still plays hockey regularly in the Burlington Old Timers Hockey League — one of the largest leagues in North America with more than 1,100 members.
The Road to My Hockey Hero
In March 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown, Barnes decided to complete his 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee hockey card set. Once completed, he next turned his attention to collecting rookie cards of every Black or biracial player who had played at least one NHL game.
“Growing up in Burlington, there were no other players of color, like me,” Barnes says. “Hockey is one sport where various barriers have not always provided the same opportunity for newcomers to Canada. The hockey card collection initiative was largely based on – and inspired by – the Black Lives Matter movement that followed the death of George Floyd.”
By August, 2021, Barnes had amassed a collection, close to 100 strong, of Black and biracial players that included rookie cards from players such as Willie O’Ree, Hall of Fame goalie Grant Fuhr and forward Jarome Iginla. After William Douglas wrote this feature for NHL.com about Barnes, as part of his The Color of Hockey blog, the project took on a life of its own. In 2022, the NHL asked Barnes to take his collection on the road as part of a travelling exhibit: Black Hockey History.
During one of the stops in Halifax, Barnes met a local, who had produced a story on Africville, the historic Black Canadian village north of Nova Scotia, and he pitched Barnes on the idea of collaborating on a podcast to further share stories of Black and other biracial hockey heroes, beginning with players from his hockey card collection. The first episode premiered on February 10, 2023 and 46 episodes later, it’s now in its fourth season.
As the OHA’s conversation with Barnes’ ends, he shares excitement about the next two podcast guests that will air soon: Mike McKegney (brother of Tony McKegney who played for the Buffalo Sabres) and John Paris Jr., a member of the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
“John is 79-years-old now and really sharp,” says Barnes. “Scotty Bowman scouted him for the Junior Canadiens training camp in 1964. John went to the Quebec Major Junior League and onto the Quebec Aces of the AHL, and later became the first Black coach in the history of professional hockey.”
About the Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA)was founded on November 27, 1890, and is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior hockey in the Province of Ontario. It is comprised of three Junior hockey leagues and two Senior hockey leagues: Junior A – Ontario Junior Hockey League; Junior B – Greater Ontario Hockey League; Junior C – Provincial Junior Hockey League, Senior –Allan Cup Hockey (AAA) and Ontario Elite Hockey League (AA). For the 2025-2026 season, these five leagues encompass 132 teams. 3100 players, and about 6,000 games each hockey season. The majority of our players are 16 to 21 years of age.
The objectives of the OHA are to foster and encourage the sport of amateur hockey, to conduct competition in the various categories established, to determine teams for entry into the inter-branch competitions that may be provided by Hockey Canada, and to provide for the affiliation of other hockey organizations.
The OHA provides administrative resources, coordinates programs, services and events for hockey participants and provides support to various Development Programs for coaches, officials, trainers and players, Safety and Risk Management Issues and offers resources for Harassment and Abuse education.
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For more information or to set up an interview, please contact:
Chris McCleary
General Manager, Operations & Marketing
Ontario Hockey Association
