Color of Hockey: Edwards 1st Black player for U.S. women's national team

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles University of Wisconsin forward Laila Edwards, who will become the first Black player for the U.S. women’s national team when it faces Canada in the 2023-24 Rivalry Series, beginning Wednesday at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.

Laila Edwards said she felt a flow of emotions when she read the email from USA Hockey inviting her to join the U.S. women's national team in the 2023-24 Rivalry Series against Canada.

“I was definitely super-excited and just humbled and grateful,” Edwards said. “Nervous, too. It’s my first time playing at that stage.”

The 19-year-old University of Wisconsin sophomore forward also felt a sense of history.

Edwards will become the first Black player to skate for the U.S. women’s national team when it opens a seven-game series against Canada on Wednesday at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona (9:30 p.m. ET; NHLN), and on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (4 p.m. ET; NHLN).

“I’m glad I’ve been blessed enough to have this opportunity, glad that I can, hopefully, inspire the next generation for anyone but, more specifically, women of color,” she said. “There are plenty of other people who can be idolized, but not many people who look like me.”

Edwards making the team even got the attention of Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The brothers took a break from bantering about NFL games and Taylor Swift on their “New Heights” podcast on Oct. 18 to acknowledge a fellow Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native.

“Shout out to Laila Edwards, she’s set to become the first Black woman to play for Team USA senior (women’s) hockey team,” Travis Kelce said. “Just being from the city, you got my love and support. Go out there and hold it down for USA, baby.”

Edwards is the lone player making her national team debut on a roster that features 22 players who were the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Brampton, Ontario, in April, including U.S. Olympians Hilary Knight, Abby Roque and Hayley Scamurra.

“A couple of them reached out, congratulating me, which was awesome, it made me feel great,” Edwards said of her U.S. teammates. “I’m going to put my best foot forward and put myself and the team in the best position to win.”

Edwards is fifth in scoring for Wisconsin with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 12 games this season. She had 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 41 games as a freshman last season for the Badgers, who won the 2023 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four championship, and also was named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Rookie team.

Edwards was an alternate captain on the U.S. team that won the silver medal at the 2022 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship in Madison, Wisconsin.

She tied for the U.S. lead with defenseman Sydney Morrow and was tied for third among all players with eight points (four goals, four assists) in five games. She was named the tournament’s most valuable player, its best forward and earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.

“She’s earned her way into this position,” U.S. women’s senior national team coach John Wroblewski said. “I believe in her long-term, otherwise she wouldn’t be here. I’m just excited for her and all the work that she and her family have put in to be in this position, and just come in, enjoy it, and perform when her number gets called.”

Wroblewski said Edwards brings a combination of size (6-foot-2), skill and hockey sense to an already formidable U.S. team.

“The thing that you start to notice right away is her brain and how she sees plays develop,” Wroblewski said. “Whether they connect every time is irrelevant. You just notice that the player can see the things that are happening out there and is processing them.

“Often, what you’ll get from a player who is physically overwhelming for the opponent [is that] he or she will rely on those physical attributes and therefore the hockey IQ isn’t that sharp. It’s just the opposite with Laila. Her brain might be a bigger attribute than her size.”

Edwards making the U.S. team didn’t surprise her sister, Chayla Edwards, a 22-year-old graduate defenseman at Wisconsin. She has witnessed her younger sibling’s growth from the blue line.

“Coming in, she was pretty good, a threat on offense,” Chayla said. “I can just see little plays here and there and how much quicker she’s gotten and how she sees the ice even better. She’s definitely matching, if not exceeding, the pace and skill level of our game. She’s just becoming more of a threat, and it’s really cool to see.”

The sisters got into hockey through their father, Robert Edwards, a recreational hockey player and fan. He and his wife, Charone, would take their daughters skating almost every day with their older brother, Bobby, who went on to play club hockey at Bowling Green State University.

Laila Edwards said she called her father after she received the national team invitation to share the good news.

“He said what he always says,” she said. “'This is where the work begins.’”

The remaining Rivalry Series games are Dec. 14 at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, Kitchener, Ontario (7 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 16 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena, Sarnia, Ontario (7 p.m. ET; NHLN); Feb. 7 at SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (8 p.m. ET; NHLN); Feb. 9 at Brandt Centre, Regina, Saskatchewan (8 p.m. ET; NHLN) and Feb. 11 at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota (2 p.m. ET; NHLN).