Pro hockey’s first openly gay player is being featured in a documentary this summer.
Luke Prokop, a 23-year-old Edmonton Oilers prospect, came out in 2021 and remains the only openly queer player in professional hockey.
A third-round draft pick by the Nashville Predators in 2020, Prokop was a junior hockey player with the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, and Seattle Thunderbirds before turning pro. The 6-foot-5 defenceman is currently in his first season with the Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Coming out was something that took a lot of courage and could have impacted his professional career. The sport has had a tumultuous history with the LGBTQ2S+ community, with the NHL recently banning specialty jerseys after some players refused to wear them.
That, combined with a fear of scrutiny among coaches, teammates, and fans, is seen as a reason why there may not be more openly-queer hockey players in the sport.
Yet, nearly five years after telling the world he is gay, Prokop doesn’t regret revealing his true self.
“It’s definitely changed, but I’d say it’s changed for the better,” Prokop said in an exclusive interview with Daily Hive. “I think I’ve grown a lot in the relationships that I have with my teammates and coaches. I think I am able to connect to the fans a bit better.”
Prokop has played for three different pro teams, and participated in NHL training camps with Nashville and Edmonton.
“I think being out has kinda helped me really embrace who I am, and some of my best friendships have come after I’ve come out. I think it’s something that’s really cool that I can be on all these different teams and have all these different teammates, and for them to truly accept me for who I am and not care about anything has been really awesome.”
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 pic.twitter.com/7zqT0A2gJj
— luke prokop (@lukeprokop_6) July 19, 2021
Prokop’s historic announcement drew headlines across North America.
“I don’t love being the centre of attention. Even when I came out, I knew it was going to be a big deal; I didn’t know it was going to get as big as it did,” Prokop said. “I wanted to come out publicly and go straight back to work, and it got a little more attention than I anticipated.
“Which isn’t a bad thing to have my story reach more people.”
Over the past four seasons, Prokop has had a documentary film team follow and document his career across four different hockey leagues. Cameras have followed him through the WHL, ECHL, AHL, and through NHL preseason and training camps.
It’s all in an attempt to capture the real-life journey of the first openly gay professional hockey player, which will be released to audiences this June as a sports doc called “The Hockey Player.”
Shortly after coming out, he was approached by Taylor Prestidge, a film producer at Upper Canada Films, about the prospect of making the documentary.
A self-described introvert, Prokop admitted he was reluctant to say yes.
“It took a little bit of convincing,” Prokop admitted. “But thinking about it, if I can help someone else out there that might be going through something similar and just by watching the documentary, it gives them a little bit of help, a little bit of hope, I’m happy to do it.
“[Prestidge] told me he wanted to make a movie about my journey… I was kinda hesitant at the start. I think something that big you have to take a lot of stuff into consideration, but I ended up deciding to do it.”
The crew started following Prokop during his last WHL season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2022-23.
“I’ve always been someone who’s been passionate about growing the game of hockey and making it a better place,” Prestidge told Daily Hive.
“I felt like this was a golden opportunity for fans of the sport, or people who are just fans of documentaries in general, to follow a story of not only a pioneer within the sport and his community, but to follow the story of what that journey is like and how arduous it is to become a full-time NHL Player.”
Prokop inked a deal with his hometown Oilers last summer. It was a dream come true for him to sign a deal with the team he grew up cheering for.
“Ultimately, I think this was the right place for me to go,” Prokop said. “I have connections with the organization, being from Edmonton, and feeling comfortable there… I still watch them in the playoffs. Even though I was drafted to another team, I still cheer for them.”
Prokop at a Milwaukee Admirals practice in 2024 (Dave Kallmann-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Imagn Images)
He hopes this documentary can help encourage people to live their true lives and follow their dreams without fear, just like he has.
“It just gives another level of hope,” Prokop said. “It can provide hope for someone else in a similar spot in a different workplace, so they keep pursuing their dreams, keep going for their goals, whatever that may be.
“If you work hard enough, you should be given every right and every opportunity. For the queer community, it’s a little bit difficult, a couple more hurdles to hop over, but that just makes us so much more resilient.”
Red-carpet premieres for “The Hockey Player” are set for Edmonton and Toronto. The documentary will be available to watch via Apple TV, Prime Video, and OUTtv in June.