Luke Prokop is the first openly gay player under contract in the NHL. And he’s the grand marshal at the Milwaukee Pride Parade.

When Luke Prokop was in the sixth grade, he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. 

His response? A player in the National Hockey League.

“It was a goal of mine ever since I was really little,” Prokop said. 

He’s still chasing that dream now as a defenseman with the Milwaukee Admirals, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Nashville Predators.

And he’s already making history off the ice. In 2021, he became the first openly gay player under contract with an NHL team.

On Sunday, Prokop, 23, will serve as the Grand Marshal in Milwaukee’s 2025 Pride Parade, an event expected to draw thousands of people.

“I want to be a leader by action, not by voice,” Prokop said in a statement about the event. 

He called the opportunity a “once in a lifetime experience.”

“Being visible in the community and showing my love and appreciation, and love and support for the community, I think, is a really important thing,” Prokop said in an interview with WPR.

Prokop has been playing hockey since he was 5

Prokop, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, has been ice skating since he was 4 years old. When he was 5, he picked up a hockey stick for the first time.

He never looked back. 

“Kind of was normal for me to get into the sport, because my brother played it, my dad played it, and (I) just kind of fell in love right away,” Prokop said. 

Prokop grew up playing the sport on outdoor rinks in Canada. The ice was his “happy place.” 

“Being able to get home from school and hop right onto the rink, be out there for four or five hours, go in for dinner, go back out,” Prokop said about growing up playing hockey.

He has played in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League. In 2020, he was drafted in the third round by the Nashville Predators in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Coming out as a hockey player was ‘unknown territory’

For around eight months after he was drafted, he contemplated publicly coming out as gay. 

“I always kind of wanted to go public with it. It was just kind of getting the confidence in myself and not caring so much about what other people kind of think,” Prokop said. 

Prokop wasn’t sure how the hockey community would respond and he was worried he might be criticized for the choice.

“Knowing that there wasn’t anyone like me playing in pro hockey was definitely … It was unknown territory,” Prokop said. 

In July 2021, he made an Instagram post where he officially came out. In the post, he wrote he was “no longer scared to hide who I am.” 

“From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams,” Prokop wrote. 

He didn’t have access to his social media accounts on the day he made the post, but he quickly got texts of support from former and current teammates.

“For the guys that had played with me before I came out, they realized that I was just one of one of the guys, like, there wasn’t anything different about me,” Prokop said.

He said he also had the support of the league and of the Nashville Predators organization. Some people did make negative comments online, but overall, he said the response has been “overwhelmingly positive.”

“Being able just to be who I was at the rink and not have to hide it — that was huge for me,” Prokop said.

Prokop said he also made the decision as an encouragement for younger athletes who are unsure about coming out.

“I realized that if I tell my story, then it’s going to reach someone out there who was going through the same thing that I was, who maybe didn’t have the support or something like that,” Prokop said. “But just to let them know that you can be who you are and do what you love.”

Theme of Milwaukee Pride Parade is ‘Remember, Resist, Rejoice’

Prokop has been playing with the Milwaukee Admirals on and off since 2023.  He said he’s grown more confident in his life and even in his game — he scored his first goal in the American Hockey League last season.

“I think my confidence, just in myself and my hockey, has gone way up,” Prokop said. “I’ve been able to make a lot of really good, long-lasting friendships and relationships with some people since I came out.”

The Milwaukee Admirals hosted Gay Pride Night in January. Some players displayed rainbow pride tape on their hockey sticks, while the team sold rainbow cow bells and merchandise. 

“They (teammates) were fully supportive of it,” Prokop said. 

Now, Prokop has the opportunity to be the Grand Marshal for the Milwaukee Pride Parade, which will be held Sunday afternoon. This year’s theme of the parade, which is in its 21st year under the current leadership, is “Remember, Resist, Rejoice.”

“Thousands are expected to gather to uplift LGBTQ+ history, celebrate community, and stand against ongoing challenges,” said a statement about the event. 

Prokop marched in the Toronto Pride Parade in 2023. That event left a lasting impression on him.

“I saw how much of an impact it had on myself and everyone that was at the parade cheering and the people that were marching as well, too,” he said.

Prokop is living in Canada now during the offseason, but said he’s grown to love Milwaukee and has met many people in the queer community.

“To be out there again and see some familiar faces will be really exciting for me,” he said.

Michail Takach, chair of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, said there have been pride parades in Milwaukee dating back to 1971. But Takach believes Prokop will be the first athlete to serve as the grand marshal for any pride parade in the city.

“It’s impressive that … he is willing to take this stand and be visible and vocal on behalf of the community for Pride Month,” Takach said.

PrideFest Milwaukee is taking place Thursday through Sunday. The parade is Sunday beginning at 2:00 p.m.