Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong; simplified Chinese: 吴启光; traditional Chinese: 吳啟光; pinyin: Wú Qǐguāng; Cantonese Yale: Ǹgh Káigwōng; June 17, 1923 – March 15, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who was the first player of Asian descent in the National Hockey League (NHL),[1] playing a short shift at the end of the third period.

[4] His father later started farming and then went into the grocery business in Vernon, British Columbia, calling his store Kwong Hing Lung.

[5] Kwong faced numerous acts of racial discrimination during his youthful years in Vernon, as he recalled being denied service at a barbershop because of his ethnic background.

[8] In 1942, the Chicago Black Hawks invited Kwong to training camp, but "the Canadian government refused to process the documentation needed to leave the country".

Instead of being deployed overseas, he was selected to join "Sugar" Jim Henry and Mac Colville on the Red Deer Wheelers of the Central Alberta Garrison Hockey League.

The Wheelers defeated the Calgary Combines (starring two-time NHL scoring champion Sweeney Schriner) in the playoff semi-final, before falling to Calgary Currie Army (whose roster included Hart Trophy winners Max Bentley and Tommy Anderson) in the final series.

[10] After World War II, Kwong returned to Trail and won the provincial senior hockey championship with the Smoke Eaters in 1946.

Kwong was not the first non-white player, having been preceded by Aboriginal Canadians, Paul Jacobs and Henry Maracle,[1] and Ojibwe American Taffy Abel.

In the off-season, Kwong accepted a more lucrative offer to play for the Valleyfield Braves of the Quebec Senior Hockey League.

That year, he led the Valleyfield Braves to the league championship and then to the Alexander Cup, the Canadian major senior title.

In his nine-year tenure in the Quebec League, competing against future NHL All-Stars such as Béliveau, Jacques Plante, Dickie Moore, Gerry McNeil and Jean-Guy Talbot, Kwong averaged better than a point per game.

Below is a list of select honours: 1939: British Columbia Midget Hockey Championship 1941: British Columbia Provincial Juvenile Title 1946: Leading scorer on the Trail Smoke Eaters 1946: Savage Cup Winner; scored the cup-winning goal 1948: Leading scorer on the New York Rovers (86 points in 65 games), the top minor league team for the New York Rangers 1948: Breaking the NHL's colour barrier by playing for the New York Rangers as the first non-white player in the league.

[2] 2011: Kwong's story is featured in the documentary film Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice (2011), written, directed and produced by Kenda Gee and Tom Radford.

[32][33] 2014: The Shift: The Story of the China Clipper, a documentary by Chester Sit, Wes Miron and Tracy Nagai, had its theatrical premiere in Vernon, BC.