MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- In a continuing effort to grow and develop girls hockey, the St. Louis Blues are hosting the inaugural girls 12U Tier 1 Ice Breaker Invitational at Centene Community Ice Center.
The event began on Friday and ran through Sunday, showcased five of the nation's top Tier 1 girls' hockey programs, including the St. Louis AAA Lady Blues, Carolina Jr. Canes, San Jose Jr. Sharks, Arizona Kachinas, and Milwaukee Jr. Admirals.
In addition to competing in a round-robin style tournament with a four-game minimum and a championship game on Sunday, each team participated in a full schedule of enrichment programming, including nutrition and leadership training from 1st Phorm, a women in sports panel and festival, and a skills competition.
"This is really important because I grew up playing hockey, I've been to plenty of youth tournaments, so I've kind of seen what's been done, and I haven't really seen anything like this," said Brittany Koch, who served as an event coordinator and is the Blues' senior coordinator, community hockey. "We're just really focusing on the off-ice portion. I've went to games and either I made it to the championship game or I Ieft, but I never got to learn what to do off ice. We didn't have anything. The tournaments were fun, don't get me wrong, but there was nothing to do between games, but to do this and have something for the girls to keep them going and not have them sit in their hotel rooms, was really important.
"Games are great, but think we also need to focus on the off-ice aspect as well."
Headlining that portion of the event included professional women’s hockey ambassadors serving as mentors and leaders throughout the weekend, and they helped lead both on and off-ice sessions, including Olympic medalists Alex Cavallini, Hannah Brandt, Megan Ferguson, Abby Roque, and Jincy Roese. Brandt, Roque, and Roese are all currently playing in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
"It's such a special event," said Cavallini, who currently serves as a youth hockey ambassador for the Blues and was a two-time Olympic medalist for the United States in 2018 and 2022. "When I first spoke to the Blues about it when they came to me, I was so ecstatic for it. It's something that I've been personally looking forward to just bring in teams here to St. Louis to see how great the Blues organization is because I just know how important girls hockey is to the St. Louis Blues and how much they want to grow the game and this is just a testament to what they are out here trying to do every day in St. Louis."
The event is a continuation of a rapid rise of girls hockey across St. Louis led by the Blues and their diverse youth hockey programming. Since launching the Blues Girls Hockey Development Program in 2020 as the organization’s NHL All-Star Legacy initiative, the Blues have grown participation from just over 100 girls in the first year to nearly 500 players this past season across multiple initiatives, including Girls Development, Little Blues, North City Blues, and Try Hockey for Free. The program emphasizes low-cost access, skills building, and female-led mentorship, ensuring a welcoming environment for players of all levels.
Roese, who is from nearby O'Fallon, Mo., played in the first women's professional game in St. Louis on March 29 when the Ottawa Charge took on the Boston Fleet, couldn't be more proud to see the game grow in her hometown and be an ambassador to fuel the growth.
"It's the best event that needs to happen," said Roese, who currently plays for the New York Sirens and was a silver medalist for USA in 2022. "I was around the girls all day (Saturday) and they're so excited. That's amazing that they get to have that opportunity and experience that. Way to go Blues on that one. But the girls have asked questions and what it's like to play in the PWHL, and I get to interact with them as well. It was really sweet.
"We went into the Blues' locker room today and they made made me a sign and they had most of the St. Louis girls in the area sign it for me, so that was very, very special."
St. Louis, which supports all-girls associations, including the Affton Lady Liberty, Chesterfield Lady Falcons, and the St. Louis Lady Cyclones, wants to grow this first-time event and make it an annual one.
"What we want to see is awareness about it," Koch said. "This is our first one and obviously we want it to go well. We want this to happen next year, the following year, but we want to grow it. We've got five teams now, but later down the road, we might want 12, we might want 15 teams. We want to really keep growing it, but also let everyone know that we're here to give something to these 12-year-old girls, give these 12U teams, especially at this level. A lot of times teams are being made or they're already formed, but they don't have anything to do around this time frame, so we really want to have something to build them together, really have that bonding and also get ready for their season."
If there's one message Cavallini said the girls here need to take away, "is to just dream big. Set your goals, have those goals that you want to work towards.
":For me, it was always wanting to reach the Olympics. That was my end goal. I always had to have little goals to kind of find my way to make it to that next level. Work hard and have fun. I think that's something I truly, truly look by, especially as I got older."