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1 week ago | 
usahockey.com | Justin Felisko |Craig Handel |Nicole Haase
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – Sydney Parkhurst could feel the envy in her veins inside Amalie Arena when the Tampa Bay Lighting scored, or she saw the Zamboni creating a fresh sheet of ice.
At the time, Parkhurst was working as a bartender at Lightning games in 2021 and the former lifelong hockey player and Division III softball player had figured her days of playing competitive hockey and sports were long gone.
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1 week ago | 
usahockey.com | Justin Felisko |Craig Handel |Nicole Haase |USA Hockey
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – The stakes may be vastly different compared to 35 years ago when Cindy Curley was the captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the inaugural IIHF Women’s World Championship, but Curley’s love and passion for the game remains the same today.
“Of course, I think hockey is the greatest sport in the world, but I rightfully may be a little biased,” Curley said in laughter.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Sean Shapiro |Justin Felisko |Madilynn Warden |Sravan Gannavarapu
For the Greenhalgh family, the growing hockey community in Florida helped ease the move from Canada, and it gave Spencer an instant connection with friends and teammates, Dave Greenhalgh said. “That was a little bit of a worry before we moved, the level of hockey and opportunity for Spencer,” Dave Greenhalgh said. “But we were surprised by the volume of opportunities, the quality of the league.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Justin Felisko |Madilynn Warden |Sravan Gannavarapu |Josh Meyers
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Marco Boccardi and some of his St. Louis Blues (MO) Tier I 18U teammates spent a few minutes Wednesday morning watching Charlie Sullivan, head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the U.S. Men’s National Team, run his players through various drills at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Madilynn Warden |Justin Felisko |Sravan Gannavarapu |Josh Meyers
Ian Kennedy moved from Mexico to Boston when he was 6 years old. Not long after coming to America, he put on a pair of skates for the first time. His dad, Andrew, put him on the ice, and Ian has been hooked on the feeling ever since.
The young player spent the first two weeks of his life in his home state of Arizona before moving to Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Growing up playing competitive golf, his love for hockey soon flourished years later and there was no going back.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Sravan Gannavarapu |Justin Felisko |Madilynn Warden |Josh Meyers
Every profession has its share of adverse situations, and participation in youth hockey is no exception. Hockey provides a valuable experience towards developing perseverance and resilience, essential skills that benefit far beyond the scoreboard.
Adversity in sports is a constant, and how players and coaches respond to it defines their character.
The easiest way to escape the disappointment is to fold, sulk, and walk away.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Josh Meyers |Justin Felisko |Madilynn Warden |Sravan Gannavarapu
“There’s almost no chance you’re coming back this year.”
Those were the words Conner Richard heard from his neurosurgeon in January 2024. Richard had just suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his head caused by an arachnoid cyst in the front left part of his brain.
Conner and his family had known about the cyst since he was 7. His mother, Paulle, thought her son had a “weird-shaped head,” leading to normal check-ins with his doctors.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Russell Jaslow |Justin Felisko |Madilynn Warden |Sravan Gannavarapu
Our society can struggle at times discussing mental health and suicide.
Two twin brothers on Team Wyoming (WY) — set to play in the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier II 18U National Championships this week in Utica, New York — are trying to change that.
While growing up in Wyoming, Braxton Thomas noticed how ignored conversations about mental health were, noting the state as one of the highest suicide rates in the country.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Jim Hoehn |Sean Shapiro |Justin Felisko |USA Hockey
Matt Ryu’s assist on the Anaheim Jr. Ducks’ recent game-winner carried all the way from South Korea to Madison, Wisconsin.
Ryu, in his first season of youth hockey in the United States, had one of the two assists on the overtime goal that lifted the Anaheim Jr. Ducks (CA) to a 3-2 victory over Team Alaska in the Pacific District final and clinched a berth in the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier I 16U National Championship in Madison.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationals.usahockey.com | Jim Hoehn |Sean Shapiro |Justin Felisko |USA Hockey
The winding hockey career path that began as youth-league teammates has come full circle for Alex Kim and Noah Clarke.
The California natives, once teammates on the Anaheim Jr. Ducks (CA) who later played together collegiately, have reunited as coaches for the program with two teams competing at the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier I 15O and 16U National Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.
