When Laila Edwards began figure skating at three years old, she could’ve never imagined the journey the skates would take her on. After obsessing over hockey for her entire childhood, she stepped into the spotlight and etched her name into history. In 2023, Edwards became the first Black woman to play for the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team — and went on to win MVP at the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championships. Read on to learn more about Laila, her life on and off the ice, and how she’s improving representation in ice hockey.

You’ve had an incredible run with the senior national team—including becoming the first Black player to make the team and score for the team, plus scoring a hat trick while winning MVP at the IIHF Championships. What did these milestones mean to you? Do you have a favorite among these accomplishments?

Obviously those milestones are a big deal and it was really exciting for me, but I think achieving all of that just made me want more. Obviously, I’m still grateful, but I’m not content and I haven't reached my ceiling yet.I don't know if I have a favorite accomplishment, but the most impactful one is probably being the first Black woman on the national team. The success after is important, too, because I think representation matters. For folks to see someone at the level is one thing, but then to also see them succeed at that level is another step greater.

When did you start playing hockey? What drew you to the sport?

My dad played growing up and he was pretty good. He ended up going D1 in baseball instead of hockey, but he was always passionate about the sport and wanted us to play. I was in skates when I was around three years old. Hockey's pretty hard, so he wanted us to get that early start and put all the pieces together smoothly. We started with figure skating so that the transition to hockey was easier. That's how I got into it.

The Winter Olympics are just around the corner. What are you looking forward to most?

To make the Olympics and represent the country would be an incredible honor. I also just think it would be really cool just to meet other athletes who are succeeding at that level in their sport.
I've never met, you know, top snowboarder skiers or anything like that, so I think that'll be really, really cool. I really enjoy snowboarding or skiing, even though I'm not any good at it. I can't do it, but I enjoy watching all of it.

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The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) started just two years ago and has already built a huge fanbase. What’s it like to see more opportunities to play hockey professionally?

Growing up, I used to think I was going to the NHL. I was a naive little kid. But for myself and many others, that was what we had to aspire to. Now that there's a pro league in the PWHL, it's so exciting — there's something to look forward to. 

Obviously, I’m super grateful to be on the national team, but what if it doesn't work out? You know, does that mean my career is over? No, because now there's a PWHL, which is so awesome. I watch every game that I can. I have a ton of friends in the league. It's super exciting and it's just so cool to have more opportunities to continue playing after college.

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Do you have a favorite PWHL team or player?

I have friends on pretty much all the teams, but I would say my favorite player is probably Marie-Philip Poulin. I've always loved her growing up and she's just the best. I really like Hillary Knight, too.

Who did you look up to growing up?

The national team, you know, they didn't play every weekend. It was just here and there, and I was obsessed with hockey. I wanted to watch it all the time. So even though I looked up to players on the national team like Brianna Decker, Hillary Knight, Meghan Duggan, I still didn’t have a ton of opportunities to watch them. 

With the NHL being almost everyday, I would watch Alex Ovechkin a lot. I was obsessed with him. In the past few years, I’ve liked watching Austin Matthews and then you know, that's for the NHL because I could watch that more. No offense to the NHL, but now with the PWHL, I don't watch the men as much anymore because I don't need to. I mean, it's great hockey still, but I'm more interested in the PWHL now.

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What changes would you like to see to make hockey a more inclusive sport?

It's so expensive. If you look at the locations of rinks, too, there's not many rinks to start with. I've been working with a couple programs to give free equipment to people of color and that’s been great. That's the best thing anyone can do, is help with equipment and ice access, because it is so expensive and keeps people from even starting to play. So finding ways to either fundraise or donate funds is huge. 

Then, obviously continuing to push for more representation. If you don't see anyone that looks like you, you're not going to want to play as much. 

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If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would you say?

There are hard times. A lot of the time, being the only girl in the locker room and the only person of color in the building… I would just tell myself to keep going. Things are going to get better. The game's going to grow. When I realized I couldn't go to the NHL, I was like, what am I going to do? I wasn't on the national team yet. I always wanted to be, but it wasn't guaranteed. So it's like, Oh my God. I wasn't losing the love for the game, but I did question a little bit — what is this for? It’s a good thing I pushed past that because there are so many little girls that I've been able to inspire. I would just say keep going. It's going to get better.

Representation is a broad topic in women’s sports, but what does it feel like to now be part of the representation for other Black girls in hockey?

It's an incredible honor. I remember thinking there were only like, one or two people of color when I was growing up that played at a higher level — like Blake Bolden and Kaliya Johnson. We have a few more people that look like me now. I never really thought of it as myself being at that level and being on the flip side of things. It gives me so much motivation to keep going, even if things aren't going great in certain areas. It's a big deal to me and I don't take it lightly.

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Tell us about a rewarding experience you've had since you made the national team.

After our games when we go upstairs and see our family, sometimes fans want to talk and sign things. With the national team, there's been a few times where people will say that their daughter started playing because of me. That's incredibly touching because that means I'm achieving my goal of making the game more inclusive.

Even if it's not always in person, the messages I get on social media describing how young women look up to me is so cool. I want to inspire anyone, but hearing it specifically from girls of color just means a little extra, because we’re not as represented in this sport.

Favorite pre-game music: Probably rap. Weirdly, sometimes I listen to Billie Eilish before games — she’s my favorite artist. Or just like SoundCloud remixes.

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Favorite thing to do in the offseason: I like to play other sports like volleyball and basketball. 

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Favorite women/non-binary athletes currently competing: Marie-Philip Poulin. A’ja Wilson is the GOAT. Serah Williams, too — she plays basketball here at Wisconsin and she’s a beast.

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Favorite go-to coffee or drink order: I'm not a huge coffee girl, so for caffeine, I'll just drink Red Bull. I like iced matcha, too. 

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Favorite women’s sports moment of the past few years: The launch of the PWHL. It's been really cool to see the growth in women's college basketball and the WNBA, as well as Unrivaled.