Akim Aliu, the player who helped promote a new discussion about racism and coaching behaviour in hockey, is heading back to the ice.
Aliu signed Tuesday in the Czech Extraliga for the remainder of the season. He joins HC Litvinov with 14 games left in the season, giving him a chance to display his game to any NHL teams interested in signing him.
READ MORE: Former NHL player Akim Aliu meets with league execs, says ‘big change’ expected
The 30-year-old said he thought about this move for a long time before deciding to play overseas.
“It was a tough decision,” Aliu said in a text message to The Associated Press.
“We are doing good work here on shining light on the issues in the game. My hesitation was on not losing this momentum.”
READ MORE: Hockey player on Oilers’ farm team suspended 5 games for using racial slur
The Czech league season runs until March, and HC Litvinov still has a shot at a playoff spot, but is also an a battle to stay clear of relegation to the second-tier Chance Liga.
A second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007, Aliu played in seven NHL games with the Calgary Flames.
The right winger/defenceman has since bounced around to various leagues and spent last season with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.
The Nigerian-born Aliu, who was raised in Ukraine and Canada, said last fall that veteran coach Bill Peters directed racial slurs toward him while with the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs.
Aliu said Peters “dropped the N bomb several times” because he didn’t like the player’s choice of music.
Peters resigned as Calgary coach after comments from Aliu and another player who said Peters kicked him and punched another player while with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Aliu has since met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and other league officials about racism in hockey.
READ MORE: Gary Bettman says the NHL will not tolerate abusive behaviour
“My message on top of the racial [slurs] and abuse of coaches to players is not giving up,” Aliu said.
“And I want to be an example that no matter what happens, you continue to strive for your dreams.”
Watch below: (From Nov. 27, 2019) As the NHL investigates Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters on allegations of saying the N-word at former NHL player Akim Aliu a decade ago, the professional hockey world is seeing the list of off-ice offences grow. As Mike Drolet reports, this could be the beginning of a reckoning.
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