The US women's hockey team is starting its 2026 Winter Olympic journey a day before the opening ceremony, but it's already made history before a single player has hit the ice. With Laila Edwards on the roster, fans will get to see a Black woman play for Team USA in the Olympics for the first time in the nation's history.
The significance and weight of the moment are not lost on Edwards one bit, as she has been vocal about what it is like to be in her position. According to an interview she did with ESPN before the Milan-Cortina Games, the 22-year-old is feeling both the honor and pressure that come with being the first to break a barrier.
“I'm extremely, extremely grateful and I can't even put it into words,” Edwards says. “But there have been plenty of times, especially at the beginning, where I felt overwhelmed. I'm like, ‘What do I do with this? I don't know. I don't know what to do. It's a positive, but how do I turn this into something that's consistently positive?'”
The Wisconsin senior and two-time NCAA national champion has already helped Team USA win two world championships, so she's no stranger to being an elite player in the spotlight. However, with the Olympics propelling her to even greater heights, she described how she navigated the learning curve of now having worldwide visibility and the perspective she's gained from the experience.
“I have chosen and will continue to choose to embrace it because it is a beautiful thing and it's a great thing. But just to have that ability to be a role model and hear that people are looking up to me — this may sound dramatic, but I think there's even kids who have told me they are counting on me. I take that with a lot of pride and gratitude,” Edwards added.
“I've met parents who have told me that their kids started playing because of me or that their kid still plays because of me. I've had kids say, ‘You're my favorite player. You look like me.' I think that's so important to have someone at a high stage who looks like you, and it's even more important that I can succeed at this high stage.”
Edwards already got a glimpse of the impact she has as a prominent Black female hockey player when she witnessed how young kids were drawn to her during the Canada-US Rivalry Series in November 2025. Now, the Ohio native seems prepared to officially make history against Czechia in Team USA's opening-round match on Thursday.
