Women's hockey in brighter spotlight as World Championship nears

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Kacey Bellamy has played in some big games and big tournaments for the United States. Yet her excitement talking about the upcoming IIHF Women's World Championship was palpable.

"The women's game is on the rise right now," the 31-year-old defenseman said Thursday during a pretournament media gathering at NHL Network. "You can see the fans; everybody is supporting it and rallying around it. It's an exciting time for us."
Bellamy, who has played in three Olympic tournaments and eight World Championships, is right: The spotlight has never been brighter for the women's game.
The United States won the gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics by defeating Canada in a shootout in the championship game. It was the first Olympic gold for the U.S. since 1998, the first year women's hockey was played in the Olympics.
Members of the American and Canadian teams were feted at the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game, which included a headline-grabbing performance by Kendall Coyne Schofield in the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater.
Two professional leagues -- the Canadian Women's Hockey League and the National Women's Hockey League -- are in operation.
"I think it can grow a lot more than it is now; this is a start," said Bellamy, who has won seven gold medals and one silver in her eight appearances at the Worlds and made her senior national team debut in 2006. "I definitely think a start is a start and I think it's going to be a beautiful thing in the next five to 10 years.
"I think the biggest thing you see is the impact it has on the little girls. We are an inspiration for them, but they are an inspiration for us. Hopefully they can be in our shoes 20 years from now."
The spotlight will be more intense than ever when the U.S. team arrives in Espoo, Finland, for the 2019 tournament, which runs from April 4-14.
Every U.S. game will be televised live
in the United States for the first time. NHL Network is showing all of the preliminary-round games involving the U.S., as well as two involving Canada. It will also air two quarterfinal games, the two semifinal games, the bronze-medal game and the gold-medal game.
"This is amazing that we get this opportunity to broadcast not only our team, but women's hockey and women's sports everywhere," said Cayla Barnes, a defenseman on the 2018 U.S. gold-medal team who's playing in her first World Championship. "We have been pushing for this for a while, and it has been a long time coming. It's really great to see that we are getting the opportunity, that it is finally here and that people can see what we can do."
The U.S. women welcome the extra attention and the pressure accompanying it.
They understand they will likely have to defeat Canada at some point in the knockout phase of the tournament to win another gold. The two countries have met in each World Championship gold-medal game since 1990; the U.S. has won eight of the past 10. In the Olympics, five of the six championship games have involved these two teams.
"That is what you want, more attention; that makes it more fun," forward Amanda Kessel said. "That is what we live for, to play under pressure, and excel in those moments."
As Kessel explained, success provides a platform for the women's game to move forward its agenda of growth.
"(The attention) has snowballed from the 2018 Olympics, but it has just been something that people have picked up on and we are really grateful to the NHL and NHL Network," she said. "It's something that brings more light to us, but in general it helps hockey and that is pretty much what we all want to do. Whatever generation it is, whatever gender, that is our goal."
Alex Carpenter has played hockey since she was 7. He dad, Bobby Carpenter, played in the NHL from 1981-99. She says she couldn't even dream as a kid about some of the opportunities that have come her way.
Last season, she played for a CWHL team (Kunlun Red Star) based in China. With the U.S. National Team, the 24-year-old forward has already gone to Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. These are opportunities that didn't exist for women two decades ago.
"Eventually, we expected to be in the position we are now, but I think it has definitely gone a lot quicker than we expected it to," she said. "At the same time, that is great and that shows us what we are capable of and how much we can get this game to grow.
"Seeing how progress has happened over 16 years, it will be exciting and interesting to see what happens in the next 10 or 20 years."