Ice Queens
The 6th Annual Awards
- Excellence in Black Storytelling
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Ice Queens is about resilience, perseverance, jubilance and the continued efforts and contributions of Black women in hockey. From the NHL boardroom to the suburbs of Minnesota, ladies of color are taking their shots and working together to make the sport more inclusive and diverse, building a culture in which everyone belongs.
Ice Queens is centered around Canadian Hockey legend Angela James, often recognized as the “Wayne Gretzky of Women’s Hockey.” The film also features current players Sarah Nurse—the first Black woman to win Olympic gold in women’s hockey and lead the tournament in scoring, Mikyla Grant-Mentis—one of the highest paid players in women’s hockey, and Kelsey Koezler who shares her experience as a player and the first Black woman to coach an NCAA women’s team
Ice Queens uses personal interviews and archival footage to tell stories of triumph and overcoming, while exploring the intersection of gender, race, and hockey.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
This film at its core shows the importance of telling stories of iconic women in hockey who are from underrepresented communities. It has been a valuable data point for oraganisations accross the NHL and the greater Hockey community in North America to engage with purpose young black girls in hockey. Once again proving that leading by example with core audiences and audiences in waiting the potential for growth is great.
Objective
In 2016 while on a visit to Chicago promoting his first film about Black history in hockey (Soul On Ice past present and future) a little girl stood up and asked director Kwame Damon Mason "Where are all the black girls in hockey?". On that day Mason pleadged that he would one day tell the story of Black women's contribution to hockey. With the strong push of women's hockey Mason knew the time was right to tell this important story as he believed if he didn't then Black women's story would take a backseat and the wanted to make sure there was a story that could inpsire the next generation of young Black female hockey players.
Strategy & Execution
In 2023 a new league (PWHL) was in development for women's hockey, Ice Queens was designed with the mindset that the women's game was about to take off and knowing the industy's landscape there would be the need for women of color to better understand their history and contributions to the game. The series itself rolled out initially premiering on the NHL YouTube page, before being picked up as a full piece of long-form original content by ESPN+.
Organizations
- 7 and Eh Dream Productions Inc
- National Hockey League (NHL)
- NHL Original Productions
- Guggenheim Productions
Links
Credits
Kwame Damon Mason
Director, writer, producer
7 and Eh Dream Productions Inc
Steve Mayer
Executive Producer
NHL
Robert Sevilla
Producer, Lead Editor
NHL
Craig Axelrod
Co-Producer
NHL
Kim Davis
Executive producer
NHL
Isabel Rivera
Writer
Guggenheim productions
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
