CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The International Ice Hockey Federation designated this weekend as “Girls Ice Hockey Weekend,” and in Chicago, more girls and young women are seizing opportunities to hit the ice.
Ruben Medina, the Northern Illinois Hockey League (NIHL) Girl’s Division director, said the idea is to “give girls hockey more visibility” and hopefully encourage more girls to participate in the sport.
Medina said the NIHL Girl’s Division has seen serious growth over the past decade.
“Probably about 12 years ago or so, we absorbed a little girls hockey league, and when we brought them on board, we were only, like, five or six teams of girls,” he said. “Now, we have 56 all-girls teams.”
The Northern Illinois Hockey League has helped develop some of the top women’s players, including Olympian Cammi Granato and many others.
“Our growth outpaces the growth of the rest of the country, and that’s because we have a really strong foundation now,” he said. “I think we’re, maybe, the second-largest girls hockey league in the United States — and that’s right here based in Chicagoland.”
NIHL President Bob Apter told WBBM that Chicago is a hockey town for teams at all levels of development.
“They know if they’re not in the top half of the league, the bottom half at the same age level is broken off, and they only play like opponents,” he said. “I think that has really spurred two, three years of extra growth in our league … the parity that we’ve put out there.”
Apter added that the future of ice hockey is female. In the present, he said hockey’s working to “level the ice” and make it more accessible for girls.
“There are a lot of clubs out there that will let them play on a second team at a discounted rate, so it curbs some of the cost,” he said. “That helps get girls more playing time, and once you’ve played hockey, you learn to love it. It’s like no other sport.”
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