Team USA's Hanna Bilka shoots on Aerin Frankel during a practice at the Olympic Center's 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid on Aug. 5. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — The USA Hockey Women’s National Festival returned to the Olympic Center on Monday, Aug. 5 — the second time it has been held in this village since 2019.

The festival is essentially two events folded into one event, with the girls national under-18 select camp, wrapping up on Friday, Aug. 9, and the over-18 camp, closing out on Sunday, Aug. 11.

It’ll be the first time some of the top players have skated together since April, when Team USA played in the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship in Utica. Team USA finished that tournament with a silver medal after falling to Canada 6-5 in overtime.

“It’s always exciting to be back, no matter what event we have going on,” said Katie Million. former Olympic Regional Development Authority employee and USA Hockey’s director of women’s national team programs.

Following the festival, USA Hockey will select two two teams among its under-18 group, which will be an under-18 select team, and a collegiate select team. Those squads will compete in a three-game series against Hockey Canada at the Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario, from Aug. 14 to 17.

Megan Healy of South Burlington, Vermont carries the puck during a girls U18 scrimmage at the USA Hockey women's festival in Lake Placid on Aug. 5. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

Lake Placid hosted the three-game series last year, and according to Million, it is on a rotating basis.

“This year we go to Canada, and then next year, it’ll be here with us in Lake Placid,” she said.

The under-18 and collegiate roster, will be decided based on Team USA evaluators and scouts from the scrimmages. Million said there are also NCAA Division I college coaches in attendance scouting for their teams.

The entire event will showcase a total of 111 of the best women’s hockey players from around the country. Many compete in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which wrapped up its inaugural season in May.

“We have 26 pro players here, 46 college players and 76 U18 players,” Million said. “It’s our biggest women’s camp of the year and just a really great opportunity to see our veterans, of course, but to see the up-and-coming talent.”

Women's national team assistant coach Josh Sciba draws up a play during a practice at the Olympic Center's 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid on Aug. 5 (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

Among the top professional — over-18 players — are Hilary Knight, Taylor Heise, Megan Keller, Alex Carpenter and Kendall Coyne Schofield. These players won’t be competing for a roster spot but are using this time as more of a training camp, according to Million.

“It’s just an opportunity for us to touch base with them and go over styles, skills, drills and all that sort of stuff,” she said. “Where the college players are also competing for spots on our college development team. They’ll play three scrimmages a week — Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. From those scrimmages, we’ll evaluate and select a 25-player roster that will also go on to play Canada next week with the U18 team.”

Lake Placid hosted the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival nearly every year since 1998 when women’s hockey was added to Olympic Winter Games. The event was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, it was held in Blaine, Minnesota, and in 2022, it took place in Buffalo.

Million said this village is a special place for hockey, because of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games but also for women’s hockey.

“The 1998 and 2002 (Olympic women’s hockey) teams that trained here, really set the ground work here in Lake Placid for women’s hockey,” she said. “We’re using the USA women’s hockey locker room as our coaches room. There’s so much history here and it’s amazing to be back of course, but having our players train at the (Olympic and Paralympic Training Center) and just getting that whole feel of being Olympians and what that means, while the Paris Games are going on. It’s just such a special feeling that you get here, that you don’t get anywhere else.”