Blake Bolden

Former NWHL Player & Pro Scout

Dawned the Jackie Robinson of women’s hockey, Blake Bolden has been breaking barriers ever since her father introduced her to the game at six years old.  Within three years of learning how to skate, she was playing on a premier boy’s hockey team in the Midwest.  For high school, Bolden attended the prestigious Northwood School in Lake Placid New York, honing her skills in the same arena where “The Miracle on Ice” took place at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Bolden played her collegiate hockey at Boston College and was dominant throughout her four-year career.  In her first season, she led all Hockey East freshmen defenders in scoring with four goals and nine assists, totaling 13 points.  December of 2010 saw Bolden receive an invitation to try out for the United States national women’s hockey team, and she was also in consideration for the 2012 USA IHF World Championship team.  Bolden was named as a 2012 finalist for the prestigious Patty Kazmaier Award, given annually to the best collegiate female ice hockey player in the United States.

Selected fifth overall in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League Draft in 2013, Bolden became the first African-American player ever taken in the first round of the CWHL Draft.  During her time in the league, she competed in the CWHL’s first All-Star game and won the Clarkson Cup with the Boston Blades.  In 2015, when the National Women’s Hockey was established, Bolden signed with the Boston Pride, becoming the first African-American player to compete in the league.  Blake is a three-time NWHL All-Star and recorded the fastest shot in the 2017 skills competition at 87 mph.  Bolden spent time playing overseas in Switzerland before returning to the NWHL for the 2018-19 season with the Buffalo Beauts, earning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award for her stellar performance.

In 2020, Bolden was hired by the Los Angeles Kings as a pro scout, becoming the first African-American female scout and only the second-ever female to be a pro scout for an NHL team.  Her role with the team expanded last July after Blake was named the Kings’ growth and inclusion specialist. She topped The Athletic’s list of “Hockey 40 Under 40” rankings released last August and in December was named by Sports Illustrated to their most powerful women in sports list.  Bolden continues to work for the team and resides in California with her partner, Miles.