Smelker named to Team NWHL, will face U.S. Olympic Team

January 2, 2018

Jordan Smelker hockey

Jordan Smelker

Anchorage’s Jordan Smelker of the Boston Pride has been named to the National Women’s Hockey League all-star team that will take on the U.S. Olympic Team later this month in Florida.

These exhibition games will be the final tune-ups for Team USA in preparation for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea.

“I was not expecting to get the call so I was really excited when I found out,” she said in a press release.

Smelker, of Service High fame, is in his third season with Boston of the NWHL and helped the Pride reach the Isobel Cup finals in each of the last two years, winning the league’s inaugural title in 2016.

The former RPI star also won a Clarkson Cup title with the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2015.

Smelker participated in many USA Hockey camps throughout her career, including the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival in 2015, National Team Selection Camp in 2013 and U.S. Women’s National Team Winter Camp in 2012.

The 5-foot-8 forward skated for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2015 Four Nations Cup in Sweden.

She never got the chance to play in the Olympics, but she’s happy to prepare the next wave of Americans that will go for gold.

“I’m grateful that I get to participate in the event,” Smelker said. “As we all know, the Olympics are only every four years, so this kind of opportunity doesn’t present itself very often.”