IRVINE, Calif. – Inside the Anaheim Ducks’ practice facility, the Minnesota Frost concluded the California portion of their summer camp series. The three day event was one of six Frost camps set for the summer as part of the PWHL’s Grassroots Hockey initiative. The camp ran from July 31 to August 2.
Minnesota forward and California native Dominique Petrie took part as a coach once again. She was joined by other members of the Frost and the Ducks organization. While the camp was another opportunity to extend the reach of the PWHL, it also tapped into the community of women’s hockey players in southern California.
Getting things started
The camp in Irvine came to be when the Frost’s Director of Hockey and Game Operations, Claire Bjerke, consulted the Ducks for ideas. Celeste Loyatho, the Ducks’ Fan Development Marketing Manager and long-time coach with the Anaheim Lady Ducks youth hockey program, said it was a “no-brainer” to create a camp for adults.
“Players are craving stuff like this,” Loyatho told The Ice Garden after day one of camp. “They want instruction. These are women who have started hockey later in life and they want feedback. They want to learn. They’re learning a crazy new sport that’s really hard at an age that’s not easy to just pick something up.”
Minnesota hosted adult camps back home in the past, but this one was different. For starters, it sold out quickly. The demographics in this area of California are different from the state of hockey. That meant a diverse group of players. In Irvine, ages ranged from early 20s to 50s with hockey experience varying, too.
Camryn Addimando was one of the participants who noticed the high demand to attend camp. “The second the news came out about the camp, it’s like the whole league knew about it and everyone wanted to be here,” Addimando said. “It’s super cool that [the Frost] want to invest in us and invest in new players and get them to feel good about themselves in the game. It’s hard to find people that really support you right now because it’s women’s hockey and people aren’t always so open to it.”
A jam-packed hour of hockey
Each player donned a Frost jersey as they made their way onto the ice with excitement. Before they could touch a puck, they settled in with warm ups. The coaches understood that most of the participants picked up hockey in the last few years or months. Bjerke wanted warm ups and cool downs to be just as important to the players as practicing skills.
“We’re going to run them through dynamic warmups and off ice cool downs. We’re getting older, our bodies are more fragile,” Bjerke explained. “Even if some of their takeaway is not necessarily a hockey skill, but ways that they can warm up before or after and help take care of their bodies, [we’re] into that.”
The players then got into the fundamentals of the sport.
They then split into groups. Everyone worked on basics such as skating and puck handling first. Then, they skated backwards, practiced skating on one leg, and worked on edges. More complex skills included skating then turning and being fed a puck to shoot. The rest of the group skated around cones with a puck then shot on the three participating goalies.
Petrie was once again eager to give examples and offer advice. Players loved how encouraging she was.
“Being pushed to go a little bit past my comfort zone in general was really fun,” said Marissa Tandon, a hockey content creator and podcast host. “I haven’t been playing hockey for a long time, but it felt like I was able to keep up and also generally encouraged. At one point, Dom actually started chasing us and shouting like, ‘Pick up your feet, move faster.’ I loved that. It was fun instead of just being treated as a beginner.”
Cultivating a positive environment
Petrie enjoyed being back on the ice. The 25-year-old returned to the ice after an injury within the last few weeks. She enjoyed being on the ice for the LA and Irvine camps.
“It’s always more special when you’re able to get on the ice. You can just talk to [the participants] about tips and tricks and connect with them,” Petrie said. “I love being on the ice. I love coaching. It’s super special to be out here with them.”
The participants all shared the same sentiment; the environment was nothing but supportive and understanding. For some, it meant a new opportunity to learn from fellow women and feel listened to.
“Everyone’s nice and supportive and everyone kept saying ‘go, go, go,’” described participant Kimberly Atwood. “Then if you messed up, they helped you keep going and they corrected you at the same time. I did another clinic with other men and they weren’t as supportive in making sure you stop and correct what you’re doing.”
Striving to learn
A majority of players said working on their edges was one of the best practices they got out camp. They added they felt much more confident and encouraged to keep working on their skills once camp was over. The coaches hoped the players would learn something new they could continue to use in their hockey journeys.
Bjerke had a simple goal when thinking about what she hoped the camp would bring to the participants: “The biggest thing I told them is I hope everyone either learns something new, meets someone new, or has some fun.”
Annie O’Donnell, a content creator and podcast host under the name Sweet Annie O’D, shared how important getting hands-on experience was for her.
“I had such a fun time. It’s always fun to break down the fundamentals a little bit more,” O’Donnell said. “There really isn’t a lot of opportunities for adults to come out and work on skills outside of stick time. For me, I mostly rely on YouTube videos and friends and watching videos on social media. It’s nice to come out here and get real instruction from professionals.”
The campers enjoyed the hour of learning on the ice and also enjoyed the social hour hosted after on-ice training. There they had dinner and drinks while getting to know everyone taking part.
Homegrown talent
Great Park Ice is the largest ice facility in California. It serves as the practice facility for the Ducks and hosts public skates, figure skating competitions, and curling, amongst other activities. The facility wasn’t around when Petrie played for the Lady Ducks and Junior Ducks as a teenager.
But her name is visible on a wall entering the facility that celebrates players from the Ducks’ development teams. For Petrie, hosting camps with the Frost in the place she trains in is distinct.
“It’s even more special for me,” Petrie said. “I’m a Frost player and we’re at my home rink and it’s super special to be able to share it with [the participants], to help encourage them. Whether they’re Frost fans or they’re different teams fans, like that’s okay. It’s just the continued growth of women’s hockey and hockey in southern California.”
Bjerke understands Minnesota is in a special place with the ability to host camps in SoCal. Still, the Frost have spent the last two years alongside Petrie strengthening ties to the area.
“It does feel nice to be able to be a part of it,” Bjerke said. “It makes sense that we’re here with Dominique on our roster to help those California connections come full circle.”
Helping grow the game
A sold-out camp showed the Frost and Ducks women are hoping for more support in the hockey space.
“I feel the community here is just huge and it’s growing so fast,” Addimando said. “It’s meaningful that they want to put time into us out here and work with us and make us feel better.”
The coaches are hoping for the same.
Loyatho anticipates the successful turnout to these camps showed the hockey community and the Ducks are invested in women’s hockey. She hopes it serves as encouragement.
“I hope that [participants] see and believe that this is a space that we are investing in, not just monetarily, but [the Ducks] see the value in investing in the women’s space,” Loyatho said. “I want them to keep showing up because they had a great time, they learned something, and they want to keep getting better.”
The Ducks currently have a free hockey development program called Fly Her Way. The program is for players ages 4-12 with no prior hockey experience. It is helps them learn the game through classes. They still continue to develop college and pro players through their Lady Ducks development program as well.
Petrie hopes the players fall more in love with the game and realize the fun they can have with it. “A lot of them are doing it as hobbies and that’s awesome,” she said. “[I] want them to continue to do that and continue to bring their friends along with them and grow the game.”
Hope for the future
The PWHL is entering its fourth season later this fall. The league doesn’t have a team in southern California just yet, but the work its done to expand and create outreach hasn’t gone unnoticed. For the players, they’re learning the sport while learning the league too. For Minnesota to travel to a part almost untouched by the PWHL is invaluable.
“One of the special things about women’s hockey is there’s so much love behind the passion. It’s a community first and then a sport,” described McKenna Bieger after the camp. “The dedication that these women have in the PWHL and those of us who are just starting out in hockey, it’s like such an honest love. Being here and getting to work with actual PWHL people goes to show how deep this all goes.”
The players want to see continued growth. Some are getting eyes on women’s hockey through social media, and others through coaching. Even the NHL teams in the area are contributing, too. Bieger appreciates those efforts.
“Everyone wants to continue building this sport and growing it for women and making sure that it’s as accessible as possible.”
