by Sam Tsao    |    December 24, 2023

BIO

The New York Rangers made hockey history selecting Cristoval “Boo” Nieves in the 2012 NHL Draft’s second round with the 59th overall pick. Being the first player of Latino descent ever drafted by the Blueshirts, not only gives mom JoAnne and dad Rafael bragging rights, but is a spark of pride for New York’s entire Black and Latino communities. 

Growing up in central New York, Nieves was the only player of colour on the Syracuse minor hockey team playing in the 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. He credits his dad with supporting him when he was targeted for racist attacks at the age of ten.

Nieves committed to play hockey at NCAA Division I powerhouse University of Michigan even though his dad hoped he would continue his collegiate career closer to home at Colgate University. Nevertheless, Boo followed his dad’s advice to continue his hockey development in prep school rather than in USA Hockey’s Tier 1 USHL Junior League. 

After graduating from University of Michigan, he suited up for the Rangers and their AHL affiliate Hartford Wolfpack from 2015 through 2020. Concussions forced him to retire from continuing pro hockey. Nieves now develops New York City’s next generation of hockey stars through Top Line Hockey, a training company he started with fellow pro hockey players. 

With hockey’s burgeoning popularity in the Black & Latino communities, Nieves’ hockey journey offers hope to minority hockey players pursuing their dreams on the ice.

What's the best part of training hockey players through Top Line? 

Hands down the creativity. The way the game is being played is evolving. The creativity of the kids we work with is off the charts and definitely my favorite part. It is so much fun because I can really appreciate people from other parts of the world by being in New York City.  You wake up here. It's so exciting.  I can appreciate everybody that comes from different parts of the world. Different parts of this country.  Honestly, I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world: I get to come in everyday and work with kids who are so excited. Who really want to get better. The competitiveness. The passion these kids have. Honestly, it’s unrivaled and I’ve never seen anything like it. 

Kids are lining up at the door. You can't confine these kids. They want to be creative like the Zegras and the McDavids of the world. And even if you did, they're still going to find ways to do their thing, which is the crazy part. These kids score the way you're seeing goals scored in the NHL.  You only used to see those types of goals scored in video games. Now the video games are replicating real game highlights. It's just mind-blowing.

We want these kids to develop Hockey IQ, the mental part of the game. It sounds cliche, but it’s about understanding time and space. There’s this kid we worked with who has all these amazing skills. He can do all the high skill plays posted on twitter or instagram. He even skates with NHL guys. He can do anything you tell him to do. It’s fun to watch.  But when you put him in a game:  he’s lost in the zone, doesn’t know what to do when the puck isn’t on his stick, keeps getting scored on. I pulled him aside on the bench and I was like “Hey, do you know where you’re supposed to be in your own zone?” “I have no idea.”  It kind of blew me away. “Look. It’s great you can do the Michigan. It’s great you can flip the puck up and do this and you can do that, but if you don’t know where to be… and when….  These skills are then useless.”

What’s your favorite New York City moment as a Ranger?

2018 New Year’s Day. Winning the Winter Classic on Citi Field in front of 40,000 frostbitten fans. Picture perfect day outdoors. Crisp blue sky. Sun is blinding.  Wandering shadows on the ice. Had to be brutal for Hank (Lundqvist) to track the puck! 

We’re skating around on ice laid down on the diamond where the Mets play.  It brings you back to when you were a kid, messing around with your friends on a frozen pond. But it’s this nationally televised game. 

I’m playing a Stadium Series game for an Original Six team I spent my whole life watching on TV at Madison Square Garden. Our opponent is my hometown Sabres. 

We’re all jacked up. Me, [Paul] Carey and Quicky [Jesper Fast] scored on our first shift. We jump out to 2-0 lead, but Buffalo came back to force overtime. They got a penalty but our power play had been kind of struggling at the time. I don’t remember who blasted it from the point, but JT Miller just crushed the rebound home. It happened so fast right in front of our bench. We saw everything and we celebrated right away. 

My picture of our celly along the glass is my favorite Ranger moment in New York City.

Everything leading up to it was just so cool.  At the NHL level, you’re kind of used to cameras. But with the Winter Classic, when HBO shows up at your front door first thing in the morning for an interview, you know it’s next level. 

The day before Brady Skjel, Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes took the subway in full gear. For a guy like me, here and there, I’d sometimes get recognized. But then I walk to Time Square and I’m staring up at this gigantic billboard of Hank (Lundqvist) in his helmet looking down Broadway. It’s definitely next level. The day before, we did a practice skate in Lasker Rink, up in Central Park. Then there was the Family Skate. And after, we Uber'd home past Rockefeller Center and the Empire State. 

Game day was so, so cold that morning. I was wearing thermal everything: thermal top, thermal shorts, thermal socks. You name it. They set up the ice from first base to third base. Guys are getting loose in the batting cage. There’s this huge gap between the boards and where the fans sit. 

Olympic torches blasting outside the glass. And for us, there were heaters on the bench. So it was super warm and comfortable for us during the game. Five minutes after the puck drop, I was so unbelievably hot. I was ripping everything off.  After the game my parents came to see me. They thought we must have been freezing but I was still so hot, I told them to stay away from me.

“Nieves” means “snow” in Spanish. Did that give you a hint that you would play a winter sport? 

How did you get the name “Boo?”

My last name didn’t influence what sport I played, I was the only one in my immediate family who played hockey.  My mom’s Italian from Syracuse and my grandfather, who died in the World War, he played.  

Growing up where I grew up (Baldwinsville, NY), there wasn’t a lot to do but to play lots of sports: soccer in the fall, hockey in the winter, lacrosse in summer.  I could rollerblade better than I could talk.  So around eight years old I started to spend more and more time at the rink. Not to be arrogant, but I was such a naive little kid that I thought “Hey! I like this! I’m good at this! I’m going to play in the NHL!”  

I come from a family of four kids with two parents. My parents were outnumbered, playing zone defense on us their whole life and they started calling me “Baby Boo.” Eventually just “Boo.” 

At the rink it was pretty tough for the other kids to say ‘Cristoval.’ It was just easier to go with ‘Boo.” So my nickname kind of stuck as my hockey name and now it’s my recognized first name all the way into the NHL.  

Since your parents didn’t play hockey, how did they influence your hockey journey?

My parents didn’t play but they were the most supportive that they could have been. I can’t thank them enough for all the sacrifices they made for us. New sweater. New gear. Every season. New skates every year. Sometimes in season. Sticks. Garage windows breaking from shooting pucks in the driveway.

Practices start at 6am. In the winter, it's blizzarding lake snow piled up to our chests. For them to drive through all that for an hour fifteen… an hour and a half each way. It was actually insane that they were doing this for me multiple times a week! Camps and tournaments were farther away and we had to book hotels.

My parents always wanted each of us (kids) to develop into whole people. Well rounded individuals. Up where I grew up, every kid wanted to play in the NHL. A lot of players go Major Junior to play in the OHL. But then you lose your NCAA eligibility. (update: NCAA voted to allow CHL players starting Aug 1, 2025)  Those OHL guys were relentless, but education is super important to my dad. Skipping college was not going to happen, so my dad is literally pushing them out the door. 

When I turned 14, we visited some colleges. My dad wanted me to go to Colgate which is only 45 minutes away from home so he could watch me play. It’s actually closer than a lot of the rinks I practiced at as a kid. But I told him, “Dad, I love you. I appreciate all the sacrifices you made for me, but I want to go to Michigan.” 

Originally, I was supposed to go to the US National Team Development Program in Michigan, That didn’t work out. My plan B was to go to the USHL (USA Hockey’s Tier 1 Junior League) but my dad said, “Absolutely not. You already know you're going to Michigan.” So we visited some prep schools. I really liked the Kent Coach. He played at Michigan. Won the National Championship there. He said, “Think of this as a two year pit stop. Then you’ll be off to Ann Arbor.” So I was sold.

My parents are really into music and it’s a real passion of mine. My dad was a DJ when he was younger: he was into electronic music and would make music mashups. My mom always had Elton John, Boston or The Who bumping in the kitchen. I picked up the guitar when I was 12 or 13. My parents thought I was crazy when I asked for a drum set and I had to push pretty hard for them to get me one.  But after I picked it up pretty quickly, they were very, very encouraging. 

Coach Red Berenson is a true legend and Michigan had so many NHLers: JT Compher, Zach Werenski, Jon Merrill, Dylan Larkin, Tyler Mott, Jacob Trouba, Andy Copp.  All those guys were at Michigan in the four years I was there.  

When I started at Ann Arbor, I was a kinesiology major. In the sports administration program. Studying all aspects of sports. Planning to do sports management: all the athletics and business too. It's a great program and lots of guys on the team do it. But I wasn’t happy coming from a game or practice to learn about more sports in the classroom. 

Mac Bennett (Michigan Captain) was a music performance major and pushed me to switch from kinesiology to music performance. Mac was such a great example for me and I found the music major is something that made me happy. I really enjoyed it, especially after a tournament or bag skate. On a Monday, you’re just dragging. Playing an instrument was my escape from all hockey, all the time. 

Hockey and music are more similar than they are different to be honest. You have to stay in the zone. Stay within yourself. Not get distracted. People think playing in front of six thousand at Yost (University of Michigan Ice Arena), that you’d be nervous. For me, it’s just another game. 

But I was so nervous performing in my eight person music performance class, I had to start over. Twice! Whether you’re playing hockey or whether you’re playing piano, you’ve just got to play. If you start thinking too much on the ice or at the keyboard… you can psych yourself out. In hockey and in music, you have to stay calm. Stay collected. Just play.  

What advice do you have for hockey minorities?

You know, I was the only black kid in the locker room. And on the ice. As a kid, I tried to not pay attention to it, but it’s noticeable. Being Black and Hispanic is basically the opposite of everybody else that you find in the sport. I didn't think too much of it until I probably started to run into some trouble around… unfortunately, around 10 or 11 years old. I would start getting called some slurs and some names. 

My dad would always tell me “We belong here too. Just because we look different doesn't mean that you don't deserve to be on the ice with these kids. And it doesn't mean they can treat you any differently.” 

I think how naive I was as a kid was almost a blessing in a way. Coming from a multi-ethnic home, my dad’s Puerto Rican and my mom’s Italian. I knew who I was. To me, diversity is the norm. My brother. My sisters. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. Diversity is beautiful. 

Then at the rink, hockey is traditionally a white man’s sport. And here I am, a minority being better. So, I could see that these racist slurs were a projection of their own insecurities. 

You have to let your play speak for itself.  You have to brush it off.  When racist attacks happen, it’s not the first time. And unfortunately, it will not be the last time.  

Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree said “Not a game went by where racial slurs weren't directed at me. I never fought because of racial slurs. I knew I'd be in the penalty box all the time. It took a while for me to gain the respect of not only the fans, but the opposition. I could hear the comments from the stands, people poured drinks on me in the penalty box, spitting in my direction. I said to myself, 'If I'm going to leave it's going to because I don't have the skills and the ability to play anymore. I'm not going to leave it because people are trying to disparage me."

What advice do you have for minority parents who are putting their kids out there?  

I owe a lot of credit to my dad. He was my protector. I can never thank him enough for the way he raised me and helped me through that. 

Whenever I got racist comments on the ice, I'd literally come off the ice and my dad was the only person sticking up for me. I would be like “Dad you're embarrassing. You're yelling and this and that.” He's like, “One day, you'll understand how important it is to fight for this. Listen. People are gonna say things. That kid said something to you.” I'm like “What are you talking about? It's fine. It's whatever.“ 

“I love your attitude about it, but it’s not fine. It’s not whatever. As you get older you'll understand the magnitude of these things and the way the world works.” 

You’re playing a sport where you don’t look like everybody else. The sport is growing.  Embrace it. Enjoy it.  By being there, you're helping the next kid. Black. Hispanic. Asian. Native American...

Don’t let someone else’s hate take away your joy.  

Keep pushing.  Eventually that (diversity) becomes the norm.  

It takes generations to make it to Madison Square Garden. But not everyone has a dad who played in the NHL. 

My favorite hockey moment is my first NHL Goal. It was against Pittsburgh. It was my 20th something game since being called up. I hit a couple of posts before.  The guys kept telling me I had to shoot. So I came in off a line change, Zuc (Mats Zuccarello) was deep in their zone and I just ripped one. The puck deflected off someone and got past Jarry.  Shatty (Kevin Shattenkirk) skated over: “Congrats dude!” I was kind of stunned: I just scored my first goal in the NHL.  

After I retired, fortunately I was lucky enough to meet Scott Vargas (Puerto Rican Ice Hockey).  We talked for a long time and I started to see the Hispanic side of things. My dad was right:  

My first college game at Yost against Windsor. Being drafted by the Rangers, My first NHL Game in Vancouver. It wasn’t just me doing my pregame skate under the Rogers Arena Jumbotron.  My grandfather was there. Not just from my dad’s side. But also my mom’s dad. 

I had the best time in prep school. The weddings I went to this summer were my best friends from there. I want my kids to have that experience.  

Each of us makes the effort so the next generation can go a bit farther. That’s what my grandfather who died in the World War did… That’s what my dad did… and that’s what I’m doing. We’re trying to help the next generation go further than we can.

Now for the question of Summer 2023: Barbenheimer. 

Which movie did you watch first when they opened? Barbie or Oppenheimer?

Neither. I was too busy. But I’m a HUGE Christopher Nolan fan, so if I did, it would have been Oppenheimer.

Thanks for taking the time to chat.