When Akim Aliu was in high school, he was on the cover of ESPN The Magazine (which I subscribed to, in print, in the before time) and had a huge article about how he was going to be the next big thing and was untraditional listening to hip hop when his teammates listened to country and all that. It didn't really pan out that way, and he did get screwed by some racist coaches, but I always wanted to give the guy a shot. I know he doesn't have anything left in the tank at 34 years old and never really made it to the NHL (but he is the founder of the Hockey Diversity Alliance), but even a tryout deal with the Sharks minor league affiliate makes me happy.
EDIT: For many reasons, mentioned directly and indirectly above, I would cry happy tears if somehow, someway, Akim Aliu got an NHL contract and could play even one game for the SJ Sharks this year. I'd probably even buy a Sharks jersey with his name on it (I'm due to get a current gen Sharks jersey anyways). I'm getting a little choked up just thinking about the fact that he's in the Sharks organization right now, albeit on a minor league tryout basis. But still.
PSA: The "Black Ice" Documentary is on HULU. I think it's really good, I saw it theatrically last year.