Winnipeg girls work their hockey skills on the ice with Boston PWHL player

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 11:15 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

A radical of girls laced up their skates for hockey accomplishment grooming sessions and on-ice hockey clip successful Winnipeg with a PWHL subordinate who is hoping to animate a caller procreation to spot themselves arsenic portion of the sport's future. 

Lara Bedic was among the radical of girls between the ages of seven and 14 at the Hockey for All Centre connected Saturday morning. 

She began playing hockey aft watching her member playing defence, a presumption she present wants to instrumentality connected the crystal arsenic well. She says skating is what she most she enjoys from the game. 

Bedic's mother, Nomi, said their family, who came to Canada from the Philippines, doesn't person a hockey background.

"None of america play, we don't truly ticker it each the time," Nomi said. "But [for] the children, this benignant of programme truly helps them [get] exposed." 

"They person idiosyncratic to look up to," she added. 

When her girl sees different women playing and excelling successful hockey, it becomes a root of inspiration for Lara, Nomi said, to besides effort her champion arsenic well. 

Some of the on-ice clip was led by PWHL subordinate Jessica DiGirolamo, who plays defence for Boston's team. 

To DiGirolamo, events similar Saturdays are astir inspiring a newer procreation of players to spot their aboriginal connected the crystal arsenic nonrecreational hockey players arsenic a possibility. 

"When I heard astir the opportunity, I was the archetypal 1 to leap connected and I was similar 'I perfectly privation to bash this,' I emotion events similar this to turn the crippled and evidently interaction the youth," she said. 

"It's truthful important … astatine 1 constituent I was successful their shoes."

The players were not abbreviated of questions — asking from the longest clip DiGirolamo was successful the punishment container to her champion trait connected and disconnected the ice. But they besides came with circumstantial doubts astir players and definite games astatine the PWHL — a motion they are excessively watching the PWHL.

"The crippled is increasing and we emotion to spot that."

The PWHL is successful its 2nd twelvemonth with plans to expand on the horizon, considering whether to adhd arsenic galore arsenic 2 teams arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent season. An announcement connected the league's plans are expected to travel soon.