Dreams of playing ice hockey at the professional level could someday be more than just dreams for about 50 girls ages 5-10 who hit the ice with representatives of the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 7.
The Kings Care Foundation hosted a Girls Try Hockey for Free program for the second year in a row at Iceoplex Simi Valley. Jennifer Pope serves as senior vice president of community and business development and told the Ventura County Reporter that foundation leaders are “super excited” about the outreach for girls they perform around Southern California.
“They’ve been huge successes for us. It includes a hockey session, off-ice experiences such as bedazzling crowns, dry land training, and then we get them on the ice with some of our female ambassadors to get them introduced to the sport and get them familiar on the ice,” Pope said.
Ambassadors who took part in the event included Manon Rhéaume, the first woman to play in an NHL game, and Blake Bolden, the first African American player to compete in the National Women’s Hockey League. The L.A. Lions girls’ hockey team also mentored participants throughout the event.
“A lot of them are exposed to the game for the first time,” said Pope, adding that girls’ hockey is one of the fastest-growing speed sports in the United States with a 65% increase in participation during the past 15 years.
“You know, historically it’s been dominated by men, and to get these girls out there with female ambassadors…they get to see that the girls can do whatever they want and they have a female to look up to,” she said.
Bolden and Rhéaume are both L.A. Kings staff members, Pope said, and Bolden is also a broadcaster for outlets including ESPN and Amazon.
“So, we’re so fortunate to have her,” Pope said. “She was the first African American female hockey player. Manone Rhéaume works in our hockey operations staff on the development side. She was the first professional female hockey player. She actually played for the Tampa Bay Lightning as a goalie.”
Pope said when it comes to ice hockey, it’s nearly as fun to watch as it is to play and every youth hockey player results in 3.5 new hockey fans. “As a sports fan, I think hockey is the best sport to watch live. So, we obviously just want to expose as many people as we can to the game of hockey,” she said.
Pope acknowledged that hockey is not a sport which can be easily learned at a neighborhood park. “Hockey has that notorious reputation of it just being, you know, more expensive and more complicated…When we host events like this, you realize that you can just go play ball hockey with your friends or get some skates on and go to your local rink and skate and hopefully the two click and they want to continue to play and learn the game.”