P.K. Subban is one of the premiere defenseman in the NHL, but he recognized that some people can't see beyond his race.
The Canadiens blueliner doesn't want to just be recognized as a great black player, he wants to be noticed for what he is, one of the best players in the NHL regardless of race.
The two-time All-Star was out in Hollywood on Monday and when asked about how he feels to be one of only 20 black players in the NHL, he made it clear that his race isn't what defines him on the ice.
"You know what, I like to be recognized as one of the best players in the league," Subban told TMZ. "Not just a black player. It is [interesting], but I think at some point I'm gonna probably do a documentary about my experiences in the NHL and what the NHL has given me. They've given me a lot."
Subban, 26, is a Toronto, Ontario native and was selected 43rd overall in the second round of the 2007 NHL Draft. The defenseman has racked up 63 goals and 215 assists for 278 points through 434 games in his NHL career with the Canadiens.
During the 2015-16 season, Subban notched six goals and tied a career-high with 45 assists to finish with 51 points. A top-pair defenseman and one of the team's leaders, Subban logged a 26:22 average time on ice this past season and 24:34 in his career.
Subban is clearly a huge part of the Canadiens future as the club inked him to an eight-year, $72 million contract extension in August 2014. The defenseman dealt with a neck injury late in the season after a scary hit as the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12.
Though he can be a pest on the ice, Subban is a great man off of it, as he displayed during the Christmas season when he turned a local Montreal children's hospital into a Winter Wonderland.
"I have the ability as of right now to encourage other people to get involved," Subban told NHL.com back in December. "I may not always have that ability to get people to donate money and join my charity or my foundation or my events. But right now I do, so I'm trying to capitalize on that. Who knows? Hopefully I have that for the rest of my life, but why not do it now?"
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