ON THE BK BEAT: BK SELECTS GIRLS REFLECT ON ‘SUPER-INSPIRING’ YEAR IN WOMEN’S HOCKEY

We all see the glorious moments, the Olympic gold medals, the USA Hockey Nationals plates, the college scholarships and the Professional Women’s Hockey League draft selections.

 

In the wake of a transformative hockey season for BK Selects and the women’s game in general, it’s helpful to remember those moments of disappointment and struggle — both public and private — that plant the seeds for the triumphs we all praise.

 

“This season has been super-inspiring in terms of the growth of our program and the growth of women’s hockey as a whole,” said BK Selects Director of Girls Hockey Cari Coen.

 

“But development isn’t a straight line, right? We always talk about how it’s so easy to highlight all the positives on social media and things like that, but no one ever talks about the failures, or the upsetting situations, or adverse moments. Whether it’s in games or practices, if it’s family at home, if it’s struggling in school, socially.”

 

Talking about embracing the ups and downs of high-level athletics can venture into cliché territory, but when you’re involved in the day-to-day as intensely as Coen has been for BK Selects, you appreciate the truth in gaining strength from struggle. 

 

“You see so much growth and development,” Coen said. “With them growing up every day and living on their own and figuring out their routines and managing their social lives, their academics, their hockey, their faith. We always talk about how there are no accidents in terms of the work that’s put in.”

 

In this way, 2025-26 has been an accurate metaphor for that development process. 

 

By now you probably know the two BK Selects girls teams didn’t accomplish what they intended at USA Hockey Nationals, with the 16Us falling to the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals and the 19Us seeing their drive for a repeat halted in a semifinal shootout to the eventual champs in Shattuck St. Mary’s.

 

But even though this spring didn’t yield another trophy for the case, the fruits of the labors of BK alumni have been evident throughout the women’s hockey world over the past year. 

 

From the eight graduates who suited up in the Olympics — five of them on victorious Team USA — to the six BKers on the NCAA champion Wisconsin Badgers, to Haley Winn being the second overall pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft and K.K. Harvey expected to go first in his year’s Draft, to Laila Edwards being featured on NBC’s Today Show … let’s just say that carrot on the end of the stick only gets more enticing. 

 

In particular, Team USA’s sudden-death victory over rival Canada in the Olympic gold-medal game provided an aspirational touchstone for all the Americans who wear the BK shield. 

 

“I think it was super-inspiring for all of us,” said fifth-year BK forward Addison Tremel (Newcastle, Wash.). “Just knowing that those girls walked the same halls as us, did the same workouts, used the same facilities, and basically paved the way for us … to see them so successful was amazing and definitely encouraged us to push even harder.”

 

While Tremel will move on to Colgate University in the fall, fourth-year BK defender and Princeton University commit Erin Healy (South Burlington, Vt.) will be back for one more season. For her, following the events in northern Italy brought “a mix of excitement and pride” for being in the same place where many international stars shifted their hockey careers into a higher gear.

 

“Seeing Team USA win gold is always special, but it hit a little differently knowing there were BK alums on that stage,” Healy said. “It makes it feel more real and more connected to what we’re building. It shows that the standard here is high and that it can lead to something bigger, which is really motivating and pushes all of us to carry on that legacy.”

 

Combine the Olympic-year publicity with the fact that the PWHL is aiming to add up to four new franchises for its fourth season of play, and you have a women’s hockey landscape that is more vibrant than it’s ever been.

 

There’s never been more ahead of a young woman who cultivates high-level hockey dreams.

 

“I think women’s hockey is growing so much right now because there’s way more visibility and real opportunities, especially with the PWHL giving players a legit path to keep playing after college,” Healy said. “It also makes a big difference that there are so many amazing athletes to look up to now, which helps younger girls see what’s possible and believe they can get there too.”

 

Tremel agreed “100 percent” that women’s hockey is simply more visible in the overall sporting culture. 

 

“I think a lot of it for sure has to do with the Olympics,” she said. “There seemed to be a ton of media attention this year, which is certainly contributing to the rise. Also the PWHL has been growing super-fast, which is awesome to see. I think that league particularly is showing more girls that there are pathways and destinations that can be pursued in women’s hockey.”

 

Of course, the fact that there’s more opportunity means the competition to join the world’s best will only get stiffer. And that’s where the ability to turn challenges into growth comes in, because adversity is often the best teacher.

 

Whether we’re talking about the myriad injuries faced by the 16U team this season, or the heartbreak of the 19Us getting edged out at Nationals, or any bumps and turns along those journeys, the goal is to put that discomfort to good use.

 

“We went through a lot of adversity,” Healy said, referring to the 19U team, “and I think that’s where we grew the most. We learned how to stay resilient, stick together, and keep pushing no matter the situation. That created a lot of trust within the team. 

 

“I’ve learned that I can handle adversity and keep showing up, even when things aren’t going my way. I’ve grown a lot mentally, especially with staying focused and not letting setbacks affect my effort or mindset. And I realized how important our team culture was. We’re such a tight-knit group, and being able to lean on each other made a big difference in getting through those tough moments.”

 

Tremel said she had a similar personal revelation from times of tension and stress. In fact, she discovered an aptitude for taking the reins.

 

“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned specifically about myself is that I am a natural leader,” Tremel said. “Ever since I got more comfortable here at school, I took on a big leadership role, and carried that with me ever since. Not only on the ice, but in the gym, in the dorm, in the classroom, and everywhere in between. Being in this environment taught me the ability to step up and pull everyone together. 

 

“Also, just being at BK and living the life we live, I learned how much I am able to do hard things. I’ll be honest, the lifestyle we live isn’t easy by any means, but being here taught me how capable I am of doing so many different things.”

 

The sheer opportunity at the fingertips of today’s young players sometimes makes Coen take a step back in amazement. She was recently part of a Premier Ice Prospects event in Toronto in which one of her childhood hockey idols, four-time U.S. Olympian Julie Chu, spoke to a group of 2014 birth-year players about how a sustainable career in the sport is so much more attainable than it used to be.

 

Coen said she thinks the proliferation of social media, specifically, has opened eyes to what’s possible, since women’s hockey no longer relies upon traditional media outlets to get the word out. The interest in the sport can spread more organically instead of requiring a legacy curator to bring it to the masses. 

 

“I’m 35 years old, and growing up you had maybe the one-off Olympic game that you got to watch, or the one newspaper article that you’d read, but that was it,” she said. “Now you’re seeing constant highlights and interviews of college players, Olympic players and youth players at your fingertips. It’s making the sport more visible for all to see.

 

“We have over 100,000 female athletes registered with USA Hockey this year, and it gives me chills because when I first started playing, the number was nowhere near that. To see all these programs growing and developing, it’s just been special.”

 

Certainly BK Selects is at the forefront of that growth, with players like Tremel and Slovakian standout Nela Lopušanová moving on to the NCAA ranks next year, while Healy and many others prepare for another season of holistic development while wearing the blue and black of Bishop Kearney High School. 

 

(Lopušanová serving as team captain for Slovakia at the World Under -18 Championships shows you don’t have to wait until leaving BK to put your mark on the hockey world at large.)

 

Regardless of where they take the ice next season, they’ll all continue to chase those uncomfortable moments, not because they guarantee future success, but because they provide the opportunity to push back and find that extra gear in a sport that’s only becoming more competitive. 

 

“Obviously (losing at Nationals) was a disappointing result, but I think as a collective group we were very proud of how the season went,” Tremel said. “We definitely battled through some things in the beginning of the year, but I think how we progressed throughout the season was really great. Loved our group this year, we all came together perfectly, and it was just so much fun all year.

 

“I think everything I have done my past five years here at BK has prepared me to succeed at the next level.”