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DULUTH 鈥� Starting on Monday, Jan. 22, Cloquet native Sadie Lundquist is heading back to school.

The former standout for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Lumberjacks and Bemidji State Beavers the organization dedicated to promoting, growing and celebrating NCAA Division I men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hockey.

Lundquist, who now resides in St. Paul, said she鈥檚 鈥渆cstatic鈥� and 鈥渂lessed鈥� to take on the role and help shape future opportunities for girls in hockey. College hockey helped shape who she is, and there鈥檚 no better time than now to help grow the game, she said.

鈥淚t's awesome that there's a ton of momentum around women's hockey. It's a heck of a lot easier to keep momentum going than it is to build it,鈥� said Lundquist, who also played professionally in the National Women鈥檚 Hockey League with the Minnesota Whitecaps. 鈥淚'm excited to just be part of this wave of new opportunities and new, exciting things that we can bring to women's hockey.

鈥淗ockey has been such a focal point in my life and it's really made me who I am. To be able to ingrain that with my professional career, I can't think of a better better role for me, personally.鈥�

College Hockey Inc. was founded in 2009 with the initial purpose of educating boys hockey players about amateurism and preserving their NCAA eligibility as Division I men鈥檚 ice hockey programs and Canadian major junior hockey leagues competed for prospects.

Since then, it has grown from being more than just a free educational resource for boys hockey players to helping grow and promote Division I men鈥檚 hockey. The organization has become more and more involved in Division I women鈥檚 hockey, as well, since it started partnering with the NHL and NHL Players Association in 2017 on feasibility studies for potential new men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 programs.

Mike Snee, who has been the executive director of College Hockey Inc. since 2012, said discussions began around four years ago about adding a director of women鈥檚 hockey. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the initiative until recently when the NHL 鈥� which provides 85% of College Hockey Inc.鈥檚 funding 鈥� approved an increased grant for the position.

Lundquist has spent the past three years working for a digital marketing agency, Bold Orange, and before that spent eight years working for the Minnesota Wild in sales and marketing.

Snee said Lundquist brings an energy and enthusiasm to College Hockey Inc. that is contagious.

鈥淪he has a vision she already shared with us of some of the ideas she has. Then it's all wrapped in this absolutely 100% authentic passion for hockey, and in particular women's college hockey, and how meaningful her Bemidji State experience was for her,鈥� Snee said.

鈥淲here I really think she can add value is all of the wonderful things happening in women's college hockey. All of the things that are being brought to life in the PWHL have college hockey roots. 鈥� Those stories are a little too quiet.鈥�

The Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League, which dropped the puck on its inaugural season on Jan. 1, has been an early success despite coming together in less than a year (its teams still don鈥檛 have mascots). at its first game on Jan. 6, drawing 13,361 fans at Xcel Energy Center and almost 8,000 on Sunday, Jan. 14 at Xcel.

for the league鈥檚 six teams, 143 of the 157 players in the league this year are NCAA alumnae.

Bemidji State head coach Jim Scanlan said it's the perfect time to increase promotion of college women鈥檚 hockey, and Lundquist 鈥� who played for Scanlan鈥檚 predecessor at BSU, Steve Sertich 鈥� has been a tremendous ambassador for the sport, and the Beavers program.

鈥淩ight now it's just a tremendous time for women's hockey,鈥� Scanlan said. 鈥淭he success of the PWHL and here in the state of Minnesota, to see the crowds they are getting, it's just a neat time. To have somebody in a role like that who is going to help promote the game, help promote how good the game is, the outstanding players that are in our game 鈥� it's just going to be wonderful. Hopefully, hopefully, there'll be more teams or more schools that will test the water and we鈥檒l get some more women's hockey programs going.鈥�

Snee outlined three areas where the organization hopes Lundquist can make an impact.

• Storytelling 鈥� by creating content and amplifying the content being created by those who do cover the sport 鈥� is at the top. 
• Working with schools who are interested in adding women鈥檚 hockey is second on the list, as College Hockey Inc. has had a few schools reach out that it would add Division I women鈥檚 hockey.
• And while not as significant as it is in men鈥檚 hockey, Snee said there is a need for more information about the recruiting process and timelines in women鈥檚 hockey to ease the anxiety young female hockey players may be feeling about playing college hockey someday.

Lundquist said her goal over the first six months on the job is to become a student of the game again. She wants to hear from coaches, commissioners, sports information directors and student-athletes. She wants to serve their needs.

They know the sport better than anyone, she said.

鈥淔irst and foremost, we want to amplify women's hockey, we want to grow women's hockey,鈥� Lundquist said. 鈥淗ow that's going to come about is just listening to those coaches and student-athletes and hearing what's working well and what's not. How do we expand on those good things and try to diminish the struggles with the tough ones?

鈥淚'm excited to see where this job goes, whether that's in year one or year two or year five.鈥�