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 Ice Hockey in Harlem, which sent eight girls players to visit the University of Wisconsin’s NCAA Division I women’s hockey team and Badgers forward/defenseman Laila Edwards, who could become the first Black player to play for the U.S. women’s hockey team at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Haylee Muicela was still bubbling with excitement as she prepared to board a plane home to New York after spending a weekend with the University of Wisconsin’s women’s hockey team.

“Because me, personally, I didn’t ever expect to meet famous hockey players or meet the team like we did,” the 11-year-old from Harlem said. “I’m

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