Since he made the announcement on social media July 19, 2021, Prokop was traded by one Western Hockey League team to another, won that league’s championship, played in the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup tournament, wore rainbow-hued skates, received two humanitarian awards and became an inspiration and role model within the LGBTQ+ community worldwide, both inside and outside the sport.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” the 20-year-old Nashville Predators prospect said. “It seems like it was a long time ago, but it’s been nothing but a positive experience for me. It’s been really amazing the way my teammates have been with me, even opponents. Some would come up to me during warmup and congratulate me.”
Prokop said the 2021-22 season was “by far the most fun year of hockey I’ve ever had.” He played free, unshackled from a secret and finally able to be his true self to family, friends and teammates.
The feeling of freedom contributed to him having 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 58 regular-season WHL games with the Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings, who traded for the defenseman in October and brought him to his hometown team.
Prokop helped propel Edmonton to the Ed Chynoweth Cup when it defeated Seattle in six games for the WHL championship. In the playoffs, he was tied for sixth on the Oil Kings with 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 19 games.
“I think my confidence just kind of went through the roof after my coming out,” he said, “and it’s been really great to see my performance on the ice grow in a positive direction and be a lot more consistent than it had been in the past.”
Prokop’s performance and presence are also helping to debunk a long-held belief in sports, that having an LBGTQ+ player on a team would destroy its chemistry and create tension and suspicion in the locker room.
Oil Kings forward Josh Williams said that Prokop joining the team had the opposite effect.
“Luke inspired a lot of guys on the team,” Williams said. “Seeing how vulnerable he was at the start to seeing him be his true self. To see him do that, it’s super brave. In the room, we treated him like any other player: He’s part of our family, he’s one of our brothers.”
Jalen Luypen, an Oil Kings forward and Chicago Blackhawks prospect, said, “We changed our mentality as a group and protected Luke at all costs.
“We just kind of fell in love with him. He’s just a great dude. … We knew if anything was said to Luke, we’d do anything for him.”
Prokop’s impact over the past year…
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