Cayla Barnes has Team USA women’s hockey fans dreaming of a gold medal
Team USA’s women’s hockey team doesn’t get the respect they deserve. Despite being the more successful of America’s two national hockey teams by a wide margin, the ladies often play second fiddle. However, with the NHL not participating at the 2018 Winter Olympics, women’s hockey should get the grand stage it deserves. Standing at center stage for Team USA will be the 19-year-old phenom defenseman, Cayla Barnes.
Barnes will be the youngest member of Team USA’s women’s hockey team. She’s no stranger to the international stage, having led America to gold medals at the Under-18 World Junior Championships in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Competing at the WJC and having so much success gives Barnes the experience that normally, you wouldn’t expect to see out of a teenage Olympian.
The United States has seen an uptick in hockey lately, as the country’s quietly becoming one of the best breeding grounds for hockey players in the world. Barnes, a three-time USA Today prep All-American (2015, 2016, 2017), is a terrific example of this. As a junior at New Hampton School in New Hampshire, she was named USA Today’s 2016 ALL-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year after posting 35 points in 28 games. Barnes led New Hampton to their first ever NEPSAC New England Division I championship as a senior.
Wherever she has gone, she’s dominated. The national team picked up on this, as Barnes only played five games for Boston College before joining the women’s team. She won’t be the only Eagle on Team USA’s blue line, as she’ll be joining Megan Keller and Kali Flanagan. Along with University of Minnesota standout Lee Stecklein, they should help form a young but formidable American defensive core.
This won’t be her first time with the national team, as she currently has 10 international games under her belt. All of these came before Barnes’ 19th birthday. For a defenseman, she can move the puck extremely well. This is highlighted by Barnes’ four points in 10 games with the national team. All the while playing against adults, some of whom have been skating for longer than she’s been alive.
Barnes is the smallest defenseman on the women’s team, standing at just 5-foot-1. However, she has a unique skillset. Much like Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks, Barnes is at her best when she has the puck. She’s extremely dangerous in the offensive zone, making her a potentially lethal weapon for Team USA. The scary part? Opposing teams have limited at best scouting of her. So don’t be surprised to see Team USA let Barnes loose, especially early on.
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To beat Canada, America will need their defense to be strong and productive. Barnes helps them accomplish this goal. Team USA’s women will be a defense-focused team, judging by their roster. Barnes will surely play a part in it. After all, she’s not going to South Korea just to sit around.