Blake Bolden Broke Barriers As The First Black Woman To Play Professional Ice Hockey. Now She’s Working To Diversify The Sport.

When it comes to hockey, Blake Bolden is no stranger to shattering “ice ceilings.” Coined the Jackie Robinson of Women’s hockey, Bolden became the first Black woman to play in the now-defunct National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) in 2015, and five years later, in 2020, the first Black woman to become a scout for professional ice hockey team the Los Angeles Kings.

In addition to being a pro scout for the Kings, Bolden is also the team’s Growth & Inclusion Specialist and member of the NHL’s Player Inclusion Coalition. Committed to diversifying the sport of hockey, Bolden is working hard to ensure that young people in marginalized communities have an opportunity for access and exposure.

When the two-time world champion was introduced to Kendal Troutman, they immediately clicked. As Troutman, whose daughter is a figure skater, told ESSENCE, “we realized we had an opportunity to make a massive impact on the sport. I have a diversity figure skating and hockey program in partnership with Toyota Sports Performance Center and the LA Kings. Blake and I have been serving young people through those and the Kings Care Foundation and my organization 24 Degrees of Color, since we met.”

According to its website, 24 Degrees of Color’s “goal is to diversify ice skating and ice hockey in LA County by making these sports more accessible financially, ensuring diverse representation at the rink, introducing young people to recreational ice sports, and providing resources for them to compete competitively, if interested.”

Last month, with support from the NHL Player’s Inclusion Coalition, Bolden and Troutman helped more than 75 young players of color from Cleveland, Los Angeles and Detroit convene in the Motor City for a weekend of cultural exchange, community building, sports clinics, and scrimmages.

“That’s why Kendall and I mesh so well—our missions and values are in such an alignment,” shared Bolden, as she recalled her experience growing up playing youth hockey in Cleveland. “It was very challenging. Financially, I think it’s darn near impossible, especially if you’re just entering into the game and you have no blueprint.”

“What I am passionate about is creating a blueprint and creating resources to support families that don’t necessarily know what the next steps are,” continued Bolden. “My main goal is to just diversify the game. The NHL has this slogan saying, ‘Hockey is for everyone,’ and that is basically what I’ve held on to my whole life because, in every rink that I went into, I was the only person of color. Most of the time, I was the only girl on my team. It’s so important to me now to spread this message to ensure that a person of color, or the girl on an all-boys team: ‘You’re welcome here. You don’t have to feel uncomfortable. You don’t have to feel like you don’t belong,’ and a part of my job is to continue to push these barriers.”

In her career now, Bolden wants to serve as an inspiration to those coming behind her. “You can be a pro scout, you can work in hockey operations if you’re interested. You can be a coach, a general manager, anything in this sport, as long as you continue to push to find your people,” says Bolden.