CLEVELAND — All this month, News 5 is profiling trailblazers in Northeast Ohio Black History, including Blake Bolden, who has broken many barriers and achieved many firsts in the sport of women’s hockey.
A native of Cleveland, she played minor youth hockey for the Cleveland Barons and later went to Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, where she participated in the first U18 World Championship team for the USA. She won Gold in both 2008 and 2009 tournaments.
After graduating from Boston College, she joined the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, winning the Clarkson Cup in 2015.
She later joined the Buffalo Beauts, where she won the 2019 National Women's Hockey League All-Star Skills Competition.
She’s considered the Jackie Robinson of women’s hockey, becoming the first Black player drafted in the first round of the CWHL and first ever to compete in the NWHL.
In 2020, she joined the NHL's Los Angeles Kings as their Growth and Inclusion Specialist and Pro Scout, becoming the second woman ever to scout in the NHL behind Cami Granato.
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