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The State of Women's Hockey
The State of Women's Hockey
The landscape of girls' hockey at all levels looks remarkably different from what it was 20 years ago. One key distinction? "There's actually girls," said Natalie Darwitz, who won three Olympic medals as a member of the United States' women's hockey team and two national championships as a Minnesota Golden Gopher over the course of her storied playing career.
This is a pretty good article about the growth of Women's Hockey in Minnesota and across the United States.
This was a pretty fantastic stat from the article itself.
Over the past 10 seasons, USA Hockey has recorded 36 percent growth in the number of girls and women involved in hockey, from competition to coaching to officiating. And at the collegiate level, about 150 women's hockey programs compete across the country, giving girls the opportunity to play beyond high school or their 19-U club team




I was a bit surprised that the whole article is US-centric - without that fact being mentioned until after the introduction (the intro makes it sound like the US is the only country contributing to the landscape of women's hockey...). Anyway, I'm used to reading such articles from a Canadian perspective, so it's cool to see how things are south of the border. It's exciting that they're working towards breaking the 70,000 mark for female player participation.
I also found the info about the Minnesota Whitecaps interesting. The fact that the Golden Gophers are such a powerhouse, yet their 'older' partner is a team floating on it's own is sad. I'm not sure what led to the Whitecaps leaving the CWHL after the merger with the WWHL, but the article states that the team is actively looking for a league to join. It's also neat that the Arizona Coyotes have been helping the Whitecaps a bit:
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"We really do have a great group of women," Halldorson said. "Many are coaches and they have a sense of the importance of giving back and really inspiring the next generation of women's players."
The Whitecaps have few revenue streams and rely on the support of fundraisers. The proceeds from program sales and the Split the Pot Raffle from the Wild's Girls Hockey Weekend game against the Arizona Coyotes will benefit the Whitecaps, who, despite their financial situation, regularly defeat top-notch college programs.
Their goal is to find a home in a league that can offer some stability -- and, potentially, some compensation for its players like in the NWHL.