Blake Bolden - Breaking Barriers

Blake Bolden has achieved many accolades in women's ice hockey, and isn't done leaving her mark on the game yet.

Bolden participated in the first U18 World Championships for team USA, winning Gold in both the 2008 & 2009 tournaments. She competed alongside the likes of Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Brianna Decker, and Amanda Kessel, some of whom she would later play with in her professional career.

Her tenure at Boston College saw 3 trips to the NCAA Division I Frozen Four Championships. Bolden captained the team in her senior year, and received Hockey East Defensive Player of the Year, as well as All American Honors.

After college, Bolden was drafted in the first round of the CWHL, and led her team to a Clarkson Cup Championship in 2015. The following year, she played in the NWHL, winning the Isobel Cup with the Boston Pride. Her professional career saw multiple NWHL All-Star appearances where she claimed the leagues hardest shot, and was awarded the 2019 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year. Bolden was the first black woman to play professional hockey in the NWHL.

During the off-season, Bolden has used her Blake Bolden Athletics platform to work with girls in hockey all over the country, specializing in mental skills, goal setting, and nutrition. But why stop there? Bolden has most recently joined the Los Angeles Kings as a pro scout, making her just the second woman to ever scout in the NHL. She also serves as a diversity and inclusion specialist with the club.

Our Take...

There's not much else to say. Bolden has done it all, and made the game much better for it. Her accomplishments will forever be held as inspiration to young girls in hockey and black athletes who are challenged by the racial homogeneity in the game. Hollywood, we look forward to seeing a movie made about this woman...

~ WPS