Jincy Roese set to return home for PWHL Takeover Tour
By
Gabby Khodadad
St. Louis Blues
On March 29, St. Louis native Jincy Roese (née Dunne) will take the ice in her hometown for the first time in her professional career.
Roese and the Ottawa Charge will take on the Boston Fleet at Enterprise Center as part of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Takeover Tour. This will mark a major milestone in Roese's career: bringing professional women's hockey to her hometown.
The PWHL was formed in August 2023, with its inaugural draft the following month. With the 17th overall pick, the Ottawa Charge selected Roese to lead the defensive front. This marked the then-26-year-old’s next journey as a pro after four years of college and stints with the PWHPA and USA Hockey.
During her time at Ohio State University from 2016-20, Roese was a two-time captain, two-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Year and was named the university’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2020.
She also earned numerous accolades representing her country, including three silver medals as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2021 and 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships.
Yet Roese says this upcoming experience in St. Louis will be her most exciting yet.
“I feel like I've had the opportunity to do it all, which I'm so fortunate about, but this is by far the coolest because I feel like this is the first time that we've experienced what it is to be a pro and to have consistency and support in a league,” Roese said.
“I'm so glad I get to take it back to my hometown, because those girls don't have the opportunity to see this firsthand," she added. "Now they get a chance...so I'm really excited for them to get to witness this.”
The beginning of Roese’s youth career was challenging, largely because there were few opportunities in St. Louis for female athletes to compete at the highest level in the sport.
At the time, there were no AAA or Tier 1 teams dedicated exclusively to girls, which meant that players like Roese had to work harder to find teams that could truly push her and help develop her skills. She eventually joined the all-boys '97 Junior Blues team.
Now with the growth of youth hockey in the region, including the creation of the Blues and Bauer's Girls Development Program, more girls than ever are playing hockey. And now they have a player like Roese to look up to.
“Growing up, everyone asked me if I wanted to play in a professional league, and I'm like, ‘That wasn't an option,’" she said. "I didn't even dream about that. But what would my life look different if I had that opportunity as a young girl to dream about this? And now these girls get that. I'm so excited for them, because I think when you have that dream, when you can dream big from an early age, the sky is truly the limit.”
This opportunity to inspire young girls and show them that their dreams are achievable is what excites and motivates the 27-year-old most about the Takeover Tour's stop in St. Louis.
And who knows, there could be some future PWHL players in the crowd at Enterprise Center on March 29 when the Charge and Fleet take the ice.
“This opportunity's reality for them now,” Roese said.
