Hockey is the least diverse of the big four sports in America. Despite having no (written) restrictions against black players in their history, they were the last of the big four to have a black player in their league. I was wondering what factors led to this lack of diversity within the league, and sport in general.
I understand that the league used to draft players mostly from Canada, who has a historically small black population. And that cost may be an issue. But the Colored Hockey League was very predominant until it collapsed in WW1. From then it wasnt until 1958 when willie o’ree joined and then Mike Marson became the 2nd player to join in 1974. I would think that the league would be a lot more diverse because of the league’s liberal principles that stem from Canadian history.
It is because the sport of hockey (and the NHL itself) started in Canada. Before the 1940s, hockey simply was a predominantly Canadian sport - with mostly Canadian based teams, and an overwhelmingly Canadian player base.Up until the 1970s / early 1980's, around 90% + of the NHL's player base was Canadian.
As you've pointed out, the black population in Canada has been historically quite a bit lower than the black population of the United States - and since the NHL has historically been predominantly Canadian - it would explain the low numbers of black hockey players in the NHL from a historical perspective.
There was also an issue of racial segregation. Canada did not have the types of codified racial segregation that many US states had in the 20th century - but there was still a social sentiment that favored racial segregation. As you've pointed out, there was a Coloured Hockey League established in 1895 - and the colour barrier in the NHL wasn't overcome until 1958.
Don't confuse Canada's political liberalism for early 20th century Canadian social sentiments. The two are very different things.
So /u/Oldmanthrowaway12345 has pretty much given a great answer, but I'll add a little more, and provide some reading:
Consider that demographically, Canada has been a much more homogeneous country than the US, with a higher percentage of the population being white (that is to say, of European descent). This of course means that proportionally there are fewer black (and other minorities; see below) to play the sport. However it is worth noting that they did play it, even if the numbers were small. As mentioned the Coloured League existed in the Maritime provinces at the turn of the century, which shows that there were enough black players to form a league, albeit a small regionalised one. But even after that there is the fact that the main hockey-playing countries all have small numbers of black and other ethnic minorities. Even the parts of the US that are most into hockey, the Northeast and Minnesota, are some of the whitest parts of the US, so demographically it was always going to be a struggle.
I mentioned that there were other minority groups that played, and do play, hockey. Native players (or First Nations, or for my American readers, Indians, a term we try not to use in Canada) have been around for a while, though discriminatory policies towards the native peoples in Canada precluded a lot of interaction until recently. However the earliest confirmed native player in the NHL is Fred Saskamoose, who debuted in 1954 for the, appropriately enough, Chicago Black Hawks. Asian players also date from a similar time, with Larry Kwong (of Chinese descent) playing a shift for the New York Rangers in 1948. Players of Indian descent are more recent and rare, and I struggle to think of anyone who predates Robin Bawa from 1989 (indecently from near my hometown).
For some reading material, I'd recommend the following:
Breaking the Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey by Cecil Harris (2004). Harris interviews nearly every black NHL player up to that point, from Willie O'Ree to Jarome Iginla, and looks at what it means to be black in hockey. Its a really in depth look, and Harris does a good job of keeping to the facts.
Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925 by George Robert Fosty (2004). This was effectively self-published, but don't let that stop you from reading it if you can find it. It serves as an excellent chronicle of an obscure part of hockey history.
Hockey: A People's History by Michael McKinley (2006). This is a more pop history, coffee-table style book that accompanies a documentary made in Canada years ago. It doesn't specifically look at minority groups in Canada, but it gives a more overall history and does note non-white players and the struggles they faced. It's more for getting a larger picture of how things were.