USA Hockey released its roster for the 2018-19 women’s development sled hockey team. Kelsey DiClaudio of the Pittsburgh Mighty Penguins has been named to this roster and will represent the US in competitions this year.
DeClaudio began playing sled hockey in second grade and hasn’t looked back. She was the only female player on the Pittsburgh Might Penguins before she took her skills to the international stage.
In 2014, DeClaudio was the leading scorer of the IPC Sledge Hockey Women’s International Cup where Team USA won gold. That same year, DeClaudio was the first woman to play with the US Men’s development team.
The women’s sled hockey program, led by head coach Shawna Davidson is now formally a part of USA Hockey for the first time.
“We’re excited to welcome the women’s national sled development team to the USA Hockey family formally,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey. “While it’s a program that has been in existence since 2007 and the USA Hockey Foundation has supported it in some fashion for a number of years, it’s a program that is now fully part of USA Hockey and we look forward to its continued evolution.”
The schedule for the 2018-19 season is to be released in the coming weeks.
