Diversity Unified
They are young. They go to college. They come from overseas. They all have a mutual love for the game. The Boston Blades are the only professional American women’s team in the Canadian National Hockey League. The Blades recruit from colleges, the USA National and Olympic Team, overseas, and anyone with enough talent. They meet twice a week at the Veterans Memorial Rink, a community rink on the edge of Somerville. When you walk into the rink it is not what a typical professional team would call home. The fans are mostly hockey families, friends, and relatives of the players. This amateur setting doesn’t faze the Blades. In fact, it keeps them grounded.
The most unique thing about them is their ability to play with unrepressed delight. They are always laughing and messing around at practice, but when the whistle blows, they turn into an explosion of power and grace. It is this quality that unites the different personalities to work together as a team. At the end of the day, they trade skates for shoes, jerseys for coats, and a hockey bag for a purse. They leave the rink, continuing with their unique lives, until the next practice or game when they suit up and become one. Diversity unified.
