Laila Edwards is Team USA's future, but her impact off ice is even greater

"'They say, 'Oh, I want to make it to Division I and I see people like Laila have and that inspires me.' Or, `I'm the only girl or girl of color on my team but I see Laila and that helps me keep going.' Just adorable, heartwarming things,' said Taylor Green, director of digital marketing and a board member for the non-profit. "Things that let you know her impact is really being felt, on and off the ice.""

"Edwards is one of the best hockey players in the game, MVP of the 2024 world championships and so incredibly skilled she's made a near-seamless transition from forward to defenseman. (Just how hard is that? Imagine asking Patrick Mahomes to play defensive back and you kind of get the idea.) She has a goal and three assists through the first four games at the Olympics, and her seven points are tied for second-most by a defender. She's played the second-most minutes of the Americans."

"It's often said you need to see it in order to be it, and Edwards is that person when, for so long, there weren't many, if any, Black women to be seen playing hockey. Certainly not at the elite level, where Edwards was the first Black woman to make the senior national team, first Black woman to represent the United States at the world championships and, now, the first Black woman on the U.S. Olympic hockey team."

Applications to Black Girl Hockey Club grants increasingly cite Laila Edwards as an inspiration for young Black girls pursuing hockey. Edwards earned MVP honors at the 2024 world championships and completed a near-seamless transition from forward to defenseman. At the Milano Cortina Olympics she has one goal and three assists through four games, seven points tied for second among defenders, and has logged the second-most minutes for the U.S. team. Edwards was the first Black woman on the senior national team, the first to represent the U.S. at worlds, and the first Black woman on the U.S. Olympic hockey team. Her visibility expands representation and encourages retention.

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