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\u2019 AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> after some players refused to wear them.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Yet, nearly five years after telling the world he is gay, Prokop doesn\u2019t regret revealing his true self.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely changed, but I\u2019d say it\u2019s changed for the better,\u201d Prokop said in an exclusive interview with Daily Hive. \u201cI think I\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Prokop has played for three different pro teams, and participated in NHL training camps with Nashville and Edmonton.<\/p>\n \u201cI think being out has kinda helped me really embrace who I am, and some of my best friendships have come after I\u2019ve come out. I think it\u2019s something that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udde1\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9c pic.twitter.com\/7zqT0A2gJj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 luke prokop (@lukeprokop_6) July 19, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Prokop\u2019s historic announcement drew headlines across North America.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t love being the centre of attention. Even when I came out, I knew it was going to be a big deal; I didn\u2019t know it was going to get as big as it did,\u201d Prokop said. \u201cI wanted to come out publicly and go straight back to work, and it got a little more attention than I anticipated.<\/p>\n \u201cWhich isn\u2019t a bad thing to have my story reach more people.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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 \u201cThe Hockey Player.\u201d<\/p>\n
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