Hockey player career From 1962–64, John played hockey for the
Windsor Royals Midgets junior hockey club. He later received invitation letters to attend the camps of several NHL teams. In May 1963, the Paris family received a visit at home from
Montreal Canadiens scout
Scotty Bowman, who had taken a 17-hour train ride to meet Paris. Paris then tried out for the Junior Canadiens and began training at the
Montreal Forum. At 17 years old, suffering from an unknown health condition, and weighing only 135 pounds, Paris didn’t make the team. Instead, he played the following season in the Montreal Metropolitan Junior Hockey League with the Maisonneuve Braves. In the 1966 season, he played with the Junior A
Quebec Aces, together with
Guy Lafleur and
Gilles Gilbert. He earned the nickname "Chocolate Rocket". John later entered the minor professional leagues in the 1967–68 season when he joined the
Knoxville Knights in the
Eastern Hockey League (EHL). Due to his health issues, John's playing career ended with only nine games played for the Knights. He has
Hodgkin lymphoma and
ulcerative colitis.
Coaching career During the 1970–71 season, Paris began coaching minor hockey in Sorel, in Midget, and in junior hockey with the
Black Hawks (renamed
Les Éperviers). In the 1986–1987 season, Paris led his team, the Riverains du Richelieu, to win the
Air Canada Cup, the
national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, and was named coach of the year. He was the first Black coach in Midget AAA Major. In 1987, he became the first Black scout in the NHL for the
St. Louis Blues of the NHL and the first Black Coach and first Black General Manager in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), initially with the
Trois-Rivières Draveurs, followed by the
Granby Bisons. In the 1993–94 season, Paris was hired by the
Atlanta Knights of the
International Hockey League (IHL), the farm team of the NHL's
Tampa Bay Lightning. His move to Atlanta made him the first Black coach in professional hockey. The Knights won the
Turner Cup with him. In 1996, Paris was named Head Coach and General Manager of the new
Macon Whoopees, a new team from the
Central Hockey League (CHL). From 2000 to 2003, Paris was the director of the hockey program at
IMG Academy and the assistant director of the United States Junior Development Program (USJDP), where he coached for 19 years. == Personal life ==