In his Ice Queens film review, Ronny Musikitele says the film is a fitting tribute to the contributions of Black women in Hockey.
After the critical acclaim he received for his documentary Soul on Ice: Past, Present, and Future, which revealed the unsung achievements of Black hockey players throughout history, fans of Kwame Damon Mason can look forward to yet another uplifting documentary about ice hockey, this one focusing on the contributions of Black women.
The story behind why the film was made is reason enough to enjoy this documentary. Mason was touring cities on behalf of the NHL to promote his award-winning film Soul on Ice. A young black girl bravely stood up during a Q&A in Chicago and asked Mason, “What about all the girls?” Director Kwame took this comment to heart and gave the young girl what she wanted by making a movie about how Black women have influenced ice hockey.
The National Hockey League‘s decision to release this empowering documentary on International Women’s Day couldn’t have been better timed.
“We’ve got to make sure we talk about the women’s game and the women who have paved the way for all these young girls to play the game,” said Mason.
The film begins by highlighting Angela James, one of the most dominant women’s hockey players to ever grace the ice. She and Cammi Granato were the first two female inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010. The documentary demonstrates that James’ playing style and abilities were unmatched, and that no one has been able to replicate them to this day. She is widely regarded as the first superstar in women’s ice hockey history. Mason takes us back to her first IIHF World Women’s Championship in 1990, where she scored a record 11 goals and helped Canada win the gold medal. In 1992, 1994, and 1997, she helped Canada win three more gold medals. In the film, Angela James opened up about the difficulties of being a minority in the sport and how she responded to verbal abuse by cross-checking her opponents hard when the refs didn’t step in.
Since she was a young girl, her dominance hadn’t always been welcomed. At the age of nine, she was playing ice hockey in a local boys’ league and won the scoring title. The following year, because parents couldn’t accept that she was better than their sons, they banned girls from playing with boys. She was also snubbed from the 1998 Olympic team, as the coach elected not to pick her on the final roster. Despite her challenges, the director did an excellent job of showcasing James today, who is a coach, has an arena named after her, and is widely recognized for her contributions not only to women’s hockey but to hockey at-large.
“Don’t let people define your world; anything can happen if you dream big”. – Angela James
The film continued with short stories about influential black women who have made significant contributions to hockey, such as Kelsey Koelzer, who spoke about being the first Black head coach in NCAA history. She became the first Black player to be selected first overall in a professional North American hockey league draft when the Metropolitan Riveters selected her in the 2016 NWHL Draft. Kim Davis, the Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives, and Legislative Affairs, was also there and talked about what she does to promote hockey. “It’s a movement, not a moment,” Davis said. The women are living proof of this.
Mikyla Grant-Mentis was another standout, and she made history as the highest-paid female hockey player in the world.
Then there’s Sarah Nurse whose last name Canadian sports fans will recognize. Mason did a great job of showing Nurse’s athletic family history, which includes Kia Nurse (WNBA), Darnell Nurse (NHL), Donnavan MacNab (retired NFL quarterback), and many others. Nurse carried on her family’s legacy by becoming the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in ice hockey, while setting an Olympic record for most points in a single Olympic tournament for both men’s and women’s hockey.
“She’s a trailblazer and comes from a wonderful family,” hockey legend Wayne Gretzky says in the film. She was the first woman to grace the cover of NHL 2023. Sarah stated that Black women’s involvement in hockey is critical and that they belong there!
Overall, Ice Queens is a tribute to all of the amazing and powerful Black women of all skill levels who play ice hockey and are helping to pave the way for the next generation of hockey players. It honours pioneers from the past, embraces the trailblazers of the present, while leaving viewers with hope for the future by highlighting young girls who have taken up the sport and showing them that they belong.
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