Professional Women's Players Lead Islanders Girls Hockey Weekend

When Cailey Hutchison looked around at the 50 girls who came out for the New York Islanders Girls Hockey Weekend on Saturday, she understood the significance of what was taking place on the ice.
Hutchison, a forward for the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League and Hicksville native, said there were no all-girls clinic when she was growing up as a women's hockey player on Long Island. Let alone one led by professional athletes like herself.

"I would skate at Iceworks with my brothers and I'd always have a male coach, so to have seven female professional athletes on the ice teaching the girls is amazing," Hutchison said. "Seeing 50 girls come out to play hockey and having each other is something really special because I always felt so alone being the only girl, so it's really unique and I wish I had it when I was growing up."
Hutchison was one of seven professional women's hockey players, representing both the NWHL and the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), to led the on-ice sessions for Saturday's clinic.

The pros were lending their expertise, teaching tight turns around pylons, giving shooting tips and setting up half-ice mini games for the youngest of the bunch, while the goalies got some extra individual attention from PWHPA goaltender Kimberly Sass. The girls went through drills, scrimmages and did some off-ice work as well, including yoga.
"The biggest thing for me were the girls who were clearly more experienced were more helpful to the young girls and very encouraging," Riveters blueliner Allie Olnowich said. "The girls who may not have as much experience, they were asking questions and not being afraid to fall or try new things and that's super important because especially growing up you have to be able to push yourself to get better."
The pros' presence was aspirational as well as instructional, tangible proof that they could become professional players themselves.
"It's very important for young girls to see role models they can aspire to be and play at in college and the professional level," Sass said. "When I was growing up there were no pro hockey players at any clinics, it was mostly college players who would help at clinics. Just to see it progress from my generation to now, a step in the right direction. We definitely have some work to do to make sure it continues and more of a steady thing with clinics all the time and getting more girls involved at a young age."

While there is more work to do, Hutchinson has seen how far it has come over the last 15 years since she first started playing, especially with more opportunities - all the way up to the collegiate level - on Long Island.
"When I started [at 8] there were no other girls with me," Hutchinson said. "As I progressed, the Lady Islanders started up and had maybe four teams and now we have the Lady Islanders, the elite Islanders and now we have LIU women's team here, so it's a huge step in the progress and it's only going to keep growing with them coming here."
Saturday's event, part of the NHL's Gender Equality and Hockey is for Everyone initiatives, was just a small piece of that progress. But those small steps, be it the professional players teaching the game and the eager students soaking it up, can add up over time.
"Now there are opportunities for professional women to come in and talk and work with the girls," said Riveters forward Brooke Avery. "It might not seem major right now, but five, 10, 15 years down the road it's going to mean something. These girls having this experience and being able to have the exposure to that and the game is growing for the women's side."