AAA Blue Jackets hope to take girls hockey to the next level in Columbus

Growing up in Columbiaville, Mich., a village of around 800 people northeast of Flint, Emily Curlett went through just about every experience a young woman in the sport of hockey could have.
She played with boys until she was around 12 years old, then switched to full-time girls hockey. Living in a state without Division I women's hockey, she said she didn't see a varsity college game until she was 16 and attended a contest at the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York.
It's no coincidence that was also the moment the thought of playing hockey at a high level became real for Curlett.

"That was the first time it became a dream for me," she said. "I think inspiration comes before action, and then that's where motivation comes from, (thinking) 'I need to do what I need to do to get there.' That's how it becomes a reality."
Reaching the highest level at any sport requires a combination of factors, from a personal drive to succeed to a realistic path to get there within a community that cares.
It all eventually led to success for Curlett, who spent four seasons at Robert Morris University and then transferred to Ohio State, where she was a member of the team that won the program's first-ever NCAA championship in March.
Now, Curlett is one of the coaches of a program that she hopes can use her expertise to help girls follow their dreams to succeed. The successful Ohio AAA Blue Jackets junior program that has produced such NHL players as Jack Roslovic and Sean Kuraly has expanded again into the girls ranks, starting a U-14 girls squad (2008 and '09 birth years) to provide the opportunity to play Tier I hockey to Central Ohio young women.
Tryouts were completed in spring, with the team starting practice a few weeks ago and team members receiving their initial game jerseys Tuesday night. The first two games will take place Saturday at OhioHealth Chiller Dublin against the Cleveland Barons, with faceoff times set for 11:20 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
"I always joke I think 'excitement' and 'excited' are the most overused words that I have been saying since April," said new girls hockey director and team head coach Kerry Bowman. "But I think it just sums up the feeling that everybody is really looking forward to us getting started.
"A lot of the girls have grown up without this program being available to them. They haven't had this to look forward to. For them to be able to put on the Ohio Blue Jackets jersey and rep the area and play Tier I here in Columbus, I think it's a great opportunity for them, and they couldn't be more excited to play on Saturday."
With the Blue Jackets bringing NHL hockey to Columbus two decades ago and the Ohio State women's program being established at the varsity level around the same time, there have always been girls inspired to play the sport in Central Ohio.
But now, thanks to a variety of factors, the game has matured to the point where the AAA program can provide a viable path to high-level hockey for local girls. Not only is the current crop of talent up to the challenge, the participation levels in coming years all the way down to the CBJ Learn to Play and Get Out And Learn! (GOAL!) programs shows there's a strong base of girls ready to feed the pipeline for years to come.
Add in the recent success of the Ohio State program that has caught more than a few eyes, and it feels like -- after a previous attempt that didn't get off the ground -- the time is right to take Central Ohio girls hockey to the next level.
"We expect to be here a very long time and we expect to be where the boys are at in producing top-level talent and having a place where girls from Central Ohio can come and develop, whether their dreams are to play Division I college hockey or to play club hockey," Bowman said. "They can do that without having to go to Pennsylvania or Michigan or go to the East Coast to a boarding school."
The initial roster includes 17 young women from the Buckeye State, most of them from the Central Ohio area, including forwards Isabelle Allman, Leah Goldsand, Abigail Guttman, Luka Lecorchick, Lena Levins, Mia Park, Maja Pircio, Grace Riddle and Abby Warnimont; defensemen Audrey Hicks, Charlotte Keller, Elizabeth Korosec, Mia Rengel, Maddie Rios and Adyson Williams; and goaltenders Madden Clevenger and Claire Hill.
Not all will go on to play Division I hockey like Curlett, but at the very least, they will have the chance to develop their games, push their talent to the fullest, and have fun doing it. Along the way, they'll be trailblazers for what will continue to be built in Central Ohio.
"They're young enough, they haven't really experienced the first attempt at this," Bowman said. "They have grown up seeing their brothers play or their cousins play or their friends play, but they've never really had that opportunity to put on that jersey. For them, I think being on that first team, they have taken a lot of pride in it, and they are very excited to be the first ones to do it and really start this legacy of building the program."
It's a feeling Curlett can identify with, one reason she chose to stay in Columbus to coach the squad rather than pursue playing opportunities elsewhere. Being part of Ohio State's first title-winning team, an accomplishment that has garnered plenty of attention in Columbus hockey circles, has provided her the chance to be a real inspiration for younger players.
That NCAA championship trophy has been at practice more than a few times, which is fitting. It's a symbol of what can happen when preparation and dedication meet opportunity, and never has there been more opportunity for girls to play high-level hockey in Central Ohio.
"How many people can say they were part of the first team of any given program?" Curlett said. "I still have people come up to me and say, 'Hey, I was on the first Robert Morris women's hockey team,' or, 'Hey, I was on the first Ohio State women's hockey team.' That is special.
"For the (current team) to be a part of that automatically gives them a sense of ownership and excitement, and that is good because it motivates them to be better every day. For them to be part of the first team to come out of here, I think they're never going to forget it no matter what happens throughout the season."