Envision
As a young child, my parents put me in dance classes, while my brother played hockey. After following him to the rink, I told my parents I didn’t want to dance any longer and rather wanted to play hockey. My love for the game started then and I haven’t looked back. Every winter my dad built an outdoor rink in the backyard that we spent countless hours on in the WNY winters. Having an older brother on the ice taught me I had to be tough and feisty if I wanted to keep up.
My youth hockey years were spent playing for the Niagara Junior Purple Eagles, most of my teammates were boys. I grew up dreaming of playing in the NHL, idolizing Maxim Afinogenov and the Buffalo Sabres. Eventually, I had to make the switch to girls hockey and played for the Buffalo Bisons. When I realized how serious I was about hockey, I decided I wanted to play in high school and was fortunate to attend Nichols School. It was at Nichols, playing alongside some of the best girls in the area that I realized I might be able to make a career out of hockey.
It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that a professional hockey league for women was formed. It was this moment, at 18 years old, I realized my hockey career didn’t have to end after 4 years of college. That I might be able to make a living playing hockey.
Energize
Energy is a very important value to me, not only at the rink but everyday life. Energy is contagious. Hockey is something that energizes me but also something I love putting my energy into. Being myself means I’m having fun, laughing, smiling, being loud and energized all the time. Whether I’m playing, practicing or coaching, I try to bring the energy everyday.
From a young age I was taught about being a good teammate but I realized how important this was as I got older. For coaches, one of the most important attributes in a player is their character. The first question coaches ask after seeing someone play is what they’re like as a person. Good teammates energize their teams through their actions and positive energy energizes people around you.
Empower
If you told 7 year old me skating around on the outdoor rink that I’d be playing hockey for a living against the best players in the world, she would have never believed it. I am fortunate everyday for the places hockey has taken me and for the best friends I have made. I can’t believe I get to wake up and go to the rink for practice and call it a “job.” Our goal in the PWHL is to create opportunities for the young girls dreaming of being in our shoes when they’re older. We are pushing for more and more visibility and coverage of our sport so we can leave it in a better place for them. We hope to keep progressing our league forward so that young girls can be confident in choosing hockey as a career.