Luke Prokop, a Nashville Predators defensive prospect and a trailblazer as the first openly gay pro hockey player, continues to inspire others as he works toward his own NHL dream.
A former WHL champion with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Luke Prokop returned to the Pacific Northwest last weekend to participate in the Seattle Pride Classic at Kraken Community Iceplex.
The Classic is the world's largest tournament of its kind, hosting 300 skaters from 20 teams. Most participants identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, non-binary and/or queer, and each team is named after an LGBTQ+ icon, athlete or advocate. The annual tournament is in its fourth year and is presented by the Seattle Pride Hockey Association , an organization "committed to promoting and advocating for diversity and inclusiveness in the Pacific Northwest ice hockey community."
In the first of a three-part conversation with The Hockey News' Glenn Dreyfuss , Prokop explained why he felt it was important for him to play in the tournament.
"[It's about] being able to see my community come together and play hockey as one massive group," Prokop said. "They all love the sport, and they should all be able to play the sport. It's not so much a development tournament or anything like that for me, it's just kind of more so to go out there and show my appreciation for my community and just have some fun."
The three-day tournament concluded Sunday with championship and All-Star games. Prokop was a special guest player for the "Rogers' Rebels" team, named for – and coached by – Seattle Kraken assistant athletic trainer Justin Rogers, the first openly gay person to hold such a position in the NHL.
Prokop, who was selected selected by the Predators at 73rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, is a two-time WHL champion who has played some of the best hockey of his career in the three seasons since he came out as gay in July 2021.
Coincidence? "Not at all," he said.
"I played on great teams had some pretty good stats for my play style, and I think that's also a credit to my teammates for how well of a job they did accepting me," Prokop said. "Because it's also brand new to them. It's a new environment that they have to gauge and it's not always the easiest, so it's a credit to them for making me feel comfortable and being able to play my best hockey with them on the ice."
While he spent most of the 2023-24 season playing for the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators, Prokop made history yet again on Nov. 17 when he was recalled by the Milwaukee Admirals and became the first openly gay player to play a game in the American Hockey League. For Prokop, it was one step closer toward achieving his dream of playing in the NHL – which would, of course, make him the first openly gay player in the top men's hockey league in the world.
"That's always going to be attached to my name, and I'm aware of that," Prokop said. "But that's also something I'm really proud of – being the first openly male, professional player to come out, just to set an example for for kids for adults. I didn't have something like that when I was growing up. I didn't see someone on the TV who I could look up to as a role model in terms of my sexuality, so it's something I'm very proud to be attached to as well."
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