Edwards inspires next generation at Ice Hockey in Harlem

NEW YORK -- Laila Edwards and her family showed Ice Hockey in Harlem players love when they visited the University of Wisconsin in October to see her play.

IHIH returned the favor when Edwards, who made history as the first Black player on the United States women's Olympic team that won the gold medal at the at the 2026 Winter Games, came to Harlem on Monday night for dinner and a discussion with more than 150 players and parents from the inner-city youth hockey program.

"This was awesome," Edwards said after the event at Oberia Dempsey Multi-Services Center. "It wasn't just seeing the turnout. The questions were fabulous. Hopefully we made an impact on people. It could be one word, one sentence that changed someone's mindset."

The 22-year-old defenseman/forward, her older sister and former Wisconsin teammate Chayla Edwards, and their mother Charone Gray Edwards spoke candidly about their family's hockey journey, from a Learn to Skate program in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, to Laila achieving the spotlight that comes with being a trailblazer.

"I just remember being overwhelmed by all the attention I was getting, and then I just I found a way to shift my mentality," Laila Edwards said. "I was, like, 'This is overwhelming, but what a blessing.' I have the opportunity to positively impact so many people's lives and make history.'"

It's been a post-Olympics whirlwind ever since. Edwards followed the U.S. 2-1 overtime win against Canada in the gold-medal game by helping guide Wisconsin to the 2026 NCAA championship with a 3-2 win against Ohio State on March 22, for her third national title in four seasons (2023, 2025, 2026).

She was selected with the fourth pick in the 2026 Professional Women's Hockey League by expansion San Jose in June and signed a three-year deal Sept. 14.

Edwards made a special appearance at the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo and announced the San Jose Sharks' selection of forward Ivar Stenberg with the No. 2 pick. She joined fellow Team USA women's and men's hockey players on an episode of "Celebrity Family Feud" that aired in July.

Edwards is balancing preparing to represent the U.S. again at the 2026 IIHF Women's World Championship in Herning and Esbjerg, Denmark, from Nov. 6-16, and readying for her PWHL debut, against Minnesota at SAP Center in San Jose on Dec. 5.

She told IHIH members that the attention and accolades wouldn't have been possible without the support of her family and the financial sacrifices made by her mother and father, Robert Edwards, to navigate their children through hockey.

"We definitely spent 10 times more than what we made a year," Charone Edwards told IHIH players and parents. "We wouldn't even look at the end of the year to, like, add up how much we spent. We didn't want to know. We couldn't handle it. We used to complain about it, but we always figured it out."

Chayla Edwards, 25, spoke of the challenge that she and her younger sister faced being among the few players of color on teams as they ascended the hockey ranks.

"It wasn't easy because people would be asking me all kinds of questions about my hair and about my skin, like, 'Does your skin get darker in the summer? What happens to your curls when they get wet?'" said Chayla, played with Wisconsin from 2019-24 and won a national championship with her sister in 2023.

"So it was just figuring out kind of your own sense of identity and feeling confident in yourself and who you are and not letting that feeling of loneliness stop you from being in that space," she added. "I'm glad I did push through that feeling and kept going. And I'm glad I was able to kind of help my sister through that too. I think it would have been very awesome if we had more role models to look up to."

Several IHIH parents and players said they are thrilled in having role models like the Edwards family.

"I think just being around a family that's gone all the way in hockey, a Black family that's gone all the way in hockey, is really motivating and inspiring," said Rhys Powell. "Our kids are young, and being in an environment where you kind of stand out because there aren't a lot of Black people in hockey, you wonder if it's worth it at all. So seeing them up close, getting to meet them and hearing their story, it just really inspired me a little bit."

Powell's 11-year old son, Zane, said he cancelled all his late afternoon plans Monday to make sure he met Laila Edwards.

"I'd rather see a gold medalist who's Black rather than go to one of those who-knows-for-how-long practices," he said. "And I think it's just really cool seeing her in New York."

The event Monday and Laila Edwards' participation in the IHIH annual charity golf tournament in Scarsdale, New York, on Tuesday deepens the ties between the organization and the Olympian's family that began on Wisconsin's campus last October.

Eight players from IHIH's new girls program watched the Badgers sweep the University of Minnesota Duluth women's team, toured the Badgers locker room and had a question-and-answer session with the Edwards sisters and Caroline "K.K." Harvey, a then-Wisconsin defenseman who also was Laila Edwards' Olympic teammate.

"Laila, sister Chayla and their mom gave our girls all the time in the world when we were in Wisconsin to talk to them, to show them around, to inspire them, to hear their stories," IHIH executive director Malik Garvin said. "They are equal role models with Laila and in our efforts to show girls in our program and in our community that hockey is for them, that they can excel at it, and that education is important as well."

Garvin said the Edwards family visit coincides with IHIH's 40th anniversary season.

Co-founded in 1987 by Dave Wilk, Todd Levy and former New York Rangers forward Pat Hickey, IHIH offers free hockey and academic enrichment programs to children ages 5-18 from the Harlem community.

The nonprofit organization reinforces the value of staying in school and teaches life skills, discipline and the value of teamwork through the prism of hockey.

It is part of the NHL Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, which provides support and unique programming to more than 30 nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America.

"We're not a million-dollar New York City nonprofit, but to still be around 40 years later not only shows the power and the impact of our program, but the power of partnership and collaboration with people like Laila and her family and University of Wisconsin, because we simply can't do it alone," Garvin said.