Ed Snider Youth Hockey alum to represent Flyers at NHL Draft
"I have a feeling I'll be able to inspire other young women to keep pursuing their dreams," said Jasmine Martinez.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- These days it feels like they're a franchise without a face.
But Thursday night, Philadelphia's Jasmine Martinez will be the face of the Flyers. She will represent the team in Montreal as they select fifth overall in the NHL Draft.
It'll be a historic announcement. On the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Martinez will be the first female ever to represent the team on the podium.
"Being up there on stage I have a feeling I'll be able to inspire other young women to keep pursuing their dreams," Martinez says. "Because one day you'll get there as long as you keep trying, keep building connections, and you'll succeed at your dreams one day."
Martinez fell in love with the sport as a 6-year-old when she started playing for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.
"The weird thing that drew me in is the academics. In order to get on the ice I had to finish my homework and show my coach my homework, and that right there shows that Snider Hockey isn't just about hockey. It's about education, uniting others, bringing others together," she says.
It has taken her all over the globe as an elite player and onto the ice at Neumann University where she's a center and studies sports management.
"Right now I'm at Neuman on the Goals and Assists Scholarship, which is really great because if it wasn't for Snider I wouldn't have attended college because I wouldn't have had the money for it," she says.
Round 1 of the NHL Draft gets underway at 7 p.m. Thursday.
