Luke Prokop, First Openly Gay Player With NHL Contract, Makes AHL Debut

Nashville Predators defense prospect Luke Prokop, the first openly gay player under an NHL contract, played his first AHL game on Friday.

The 21-year-old defenseman played his first game with the Predators' affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. The 5-4 away win over the Rockford Icehogs was a milestone for Prokop; his first AHL game since being drafted by the Predators in 2020.

In an interview with The Athletic, Prokop said that when he initially came out, he accepted that he might not be able to keep playing.

"I know hockey is not going to be forever. As much as (when I came out) I would have loved to keep playing, I was OK with not playing any more if it didn’t work out — just being able to live my life the way I wanted, to be myself," he said. "But now, I don’t want to stop playing."

Prokop came out in an Instagram post on July 19, 2021, when he was 19.

"From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams," Prokop wrote in the post.

In the days after he came out, Prokop told The Athletic, he received an outpouring of support — including from the likes of Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Elton John.

"You never know what the reaction is going to be inside hockey, outside hockey, because no one has done it before. We kind of went out on a limb and hoped for the best. It’s been way more positive than we thought it’d be," he said.

Prokop said that there were some "keyboard warriors," but not as many as he expected. “I did not expect the amount of support I got from NHL players. That was really cool," he added.

Since being drafted, Prokop has played for teams in the junior league WHL and this year, he made minor league debut with Predators ECHL affiliate Atlanta Gladiators before joining Milwaukee.

In all of those teams, Prokop told The Athletic, he has felt welcomed by every player.

"Hockey is part of me. It’s who I am. Guys totally forget (about me being gay) when I’m at the rink. They’re not afraid to ask questions. But other than that, it never really comes up. That’s how I wanted it to be. I wanted them to know, but we can all go out and play. I never wanted to be a distraction," Prokop said.

Prokop's presence has inspired Pride Nights at two of his teams — the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Seattle Thunderbirds. The latter celebrated their "DIY" Pride Night in the midst of ongoing player protests over Pride Night jerseys, leading to an outright ban from the NHL.

"I always look at the perspective, the other side of Pride nights — why do you have them if no one on the team is gay?" Prokop said. "The point is that it’s for the fans. For me, it means a lot to play in them to show my community and be a representative on the ice."

The ban on pride jerseys was followed by a ban on pride tape — rainbow-colored tape for players to put on their sticks — in October, to much community outcry. The ban was quickly overturned after Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott used the tape in defiance of the order.

The league had initially cited the ban as a way to keep players' decisions over pride jerseys from being a distraction, but Prokop found the decision to take the choice away from players "really confusing."

“Some of them don’t really care. For some, it was near and dear to their heart. To take it away was mind-boggling," Prokop said.

Prokop believes that while he is the only openly gay player with an NHL contract, he is not the only gay player — "It’s math," he said, noting that there are 700-plus players in the league. But he admits he had expected more players to come out by now.

"I thought there’d maybe be two, three of us by now. But it hasn’t happened. But I know there’s going to be someone else soon," he said.

Being a voice of LGBTQ+ representation in hockey is a responsibility that Prokop is willing to bear. But he understands that not everyone would be comfortable taking that on.

"There was a responsibility for me to talk about these topics. I don’t think guys want to do that. I can see it from that side, why they don’t want to come out," he said. "I don’t think anything is going to change unless someone else does. Someone else will step up. It’s only a matter of time.

“One of my main goals when I came out is that if I could have an impact on one person outside of my family and friends in my lifetime, I’ve done my job,” he said. “I think I’ve done that and more. And I want to continue to do that.”