Willie O’Ree with his new commemorative coin (Photo: Royal Canadian Mint)

The Weekly Links post highlights important or interesting writing from the hockey blogosphere and media.

• Willie O’Ree is now on official currency. The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a Willie O’Ree commemorative $20 silver coin [William Douglas, NHL.com]
• The documentary Willie (check out Courtney Szto’s review here) will screen across Canada Feb 24th, if each location can secure 50 reserved tickets in advance. Secure your ticket now at a location near you (if you are Canadian).
• Read about Bob Dawson’s activism to remember black hockey history. [Adrian Harewood, CBC News]
• Color of Hockey profiles John Paris, the the first and still only black coach to win a professional hockey championship when he guided the 1994 Atlanta Knights to the IHL Champion. [William Douglas, NHL.com]
• The NHL has two commercials featuring six players wishing fans a Happy Black History Month. Zero of the players are black. Daniel Wagner writes about how “it’s a blindspot for the hockey world, which so often turns a blind eye to racial issues.” [Pass it to Bulis]
• The Carolina Hurricanes are asking for over $200,000 in public funding to host an outdoor NHL game. So much for earning everything from the free market… [Chip Alexander, Raleigh News & Observer]
• Hilary Knight explains why she shushed Canadian fans after scoring an empty net goal in the Rivalry Series. [Harjeet Johal, Daily Hive]
• As a kid, PWHPA member Reagan Rust traveled three hours each way to play hockey. Kirsten Whelan profiles Rust’s hockey journey. [Victory Press]
• Michelle Jay writes about how tiring hearing the same facts about a player’s job, motherhood, or male relatives is during women’s hockey broadcasts. [The Ice Garden]
• Alexander Ovechkin’s never before seen post-30 years old goal scoring dominance is making it a possibility he catches Wayne Gretzky for the NHL’s all time goal scoring title. [J. J. Regan, NBC Sports]
• The Seattle NHL team is building a diverse front-office. [Ryan S. Clark, The Athletic, paywalled]
• Anaheim’s Annie Pankowski is returning home as part of Team USA as they play Canada in the Anaheim stop of Rivalry Series on February 8th. She spoke with Eric Stephens about a variety of topics. [The Athletic, paywalled]