Bolden leading Kings initiative to help increase diversity in hockey

Blake Bolden said she has never enjoyed watching kids go from falling to fun as much as she has this week.

An American Hockey League scout for the Los Angeles Kings and the organization's growth and inclusion specialist, Bolden is leading their first "We Are All Kings Camp" this week aimed at helping increase diversity and inclusion in the sport. She became the first Black player in the NWHL in 2015 and the first Black first-round draft pick in the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2013.

Bolden will be part of the ESPN's coverage of the NHL this season while maintaining her roles with the Kings. This week, she has basked in helping transform many of the 30 participants in the free camp from splayed-legged fawns to full-speed skaters in a short period of time.

"Honestly, from Day One to Day Three, there were some tears at first and now it's all smiles, all laughs," Bolden said. "The kids are falling down, they're getting back up and they're smiling, we're doing relay races. Some of them have been using chairs and then now they're not using chairs anymore for balance.

"It's really refreshing to see the smiles on their faces when they feel they've achieved something that's hard that they thought they might never do."

The camp, which concludes Friday, is free for participants from several local youth organizations that include the YMCA; the Power Project, which uses hockey to provide guidance to girls from underserved communities; the Hawthorne Force, a youth hockey program created by the community affairs bureau of the Hawthorne police department; Playworks, a nonprofit that focuses on learning and physical health for low-income students and urban schools; and the Norwalk-La Miranda Unified School District.

The campers spend one hour a day on the ice at the Toyota Sports Performance Center, the Kings' practice facility in El Segundo, California, and 30 minutes off ice playing ball hockey, shooting, practicing stick handling and doing agility drills.

The Kings provided skates, sticks and equipment for campers to use for the week.

"We just wanted to open up our doors for nontraditional ice hockey players. Half of these kids have never played ice hockey before, never put on a pair of skates," Bolden said. "The goal is to get these kids interested in the game of hockey. Maybe they'll love it. Maybe they'll stick with it. And maybe our sport can be a little bit more diverse because of it."

Kings chief operating officer Kelly Cheeseman said the camp dovetails with the organization's commitment to build diversity, equity, and inclusion within its fan base and the sport.

"We feel it is very important to help ensure every fan, anyone who wants to try hockey, feels not only welcome but has that opportunity, and the 'We Are All Kings Camp' is a tremendous opportunity to introduce or advance the skills of the game to these great kids and the families," Cheeseman said.

Bolden said if campers want to continue with hockey, they have access to the Kings' Learn to Skate program, an eight-week session this fall.

"From there, they will eventually be able to go into our house league program," Bolden said. "If they stick with that, they can go into our Jr. Kings program. We will provide support for them throughout their journey. They're now within our family and have all the resources at their fingertips."