Catch up with the Huskies Women’s Hockey team as they prepare for Nationals.

The USask Huskies Women’s Hockey team will be hosting the U SPORTS Women’s Hockey National Championship at Merlis Belsher Place from March 14th to 17th. This is an event you won’t want to miss, and the team is working hard to prepare for their playoff run.

As of now the Huskies boast a great season, and are currently placed fourth in the league. Head Coach Steve Kook shared that the top four teams in this league have been very tight so far this season. The Huskies are hoping to keep up this momentum as they power through the playoffs at the end of February and look toward nationals.

“We have a lot of people who are invested in what we’re trying to do, a lot of people who have all set our sights on the fact that we’re hosting nationals and we want to do something really special this year. I think that translates a lot into our hard work on the ice,” said team captain Kennedy Brown. This is Brown’s fifth year of eligibility with the Huskies while she works toward her degree in the Doctor of Pharmacy program.

Players identified various strengths of the team highlighting their speed, ability to never give up even when they’re down a few goals, and how communicative the team is both on and off the ice.

“In order for a team to be successful, you have to work together – you have to be connected as a whole,” said Kendra Zuchotski, a psychology major and third-year player. “We’re finding success so far because our team is so close… We’re all in this together.” 

The team is now preparing to host the National Championships from March 14th to 17th at Merlis Belsher Place. Brown shared that the team is focusing on keeping their game consistent as they ready themselves for the tournament. 

The players on the team expressed their excitement about the upcoming championship, and how they are looking forward to sharing the experience with the Huskies and Saskatoon community. Jacquelyne Chief, an Arts and Science student in her rookie year with the Huskies said that hosting “is almost like an honourable thing to do… You’re filled with pride.”

Kook said that “this is what this building was built for,” and is encouraging his players – and himself – to enjoy every minute of it. “I can’t wait to see this place packed. We have such a vibrant female hockey community here, and it’s just exciting.”

Kate Ball, a kinesiology major playing her fourth season with the Huskies, noted how proud she is to host this tournament in her hometown, Saskatoon. “I knew that I wanted to come home and play for this team pretty much my whole life, so it’s honestly just been an honour to play for this team.”

The Huskies are involving their community during preparations for the championship, particularly the local Indigenous community. The players and coaches have done a few sessions with a Knowledge Keeper, who has been teaching them how to do traditional First Nations beading. In addition to this, they have been learning about the culture behind the beading and other important topics such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. 

“We have so many Indigenous communities and reserves around us, and I think it’s important to incorporate that into nationals,” said Chief. “As somebody who is First Nations, it’s important to start acknowledging that this is a normal thing and it can be normal.” Chief shared that she hopes to one day become a teacher and possibly play professional hockey in Europe after completing her five years with the Huskies.

Each team that attends the national championship will get one of these works of beading made by the team as part of their welcome gift. Kook said that this is one of a few things that the team is doing to involve the Indigenous community; another is working with the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship.

“That’s part of the legacy plan of the national championships and it’s a big part of who we are here. We have players that are of Indigenous background, we have fans that are of Indigenous background, it’s just part of our culture and who we are. So it’s important to include it in our national championship,” said Kook. “It’s a big part of where we are in Saskatchewan, and it’s a big part of the legacy that we want to leave after the championships are done.”

In addition to their work with the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship, the Huskies do a lot of work with the Comets, Saskatoon’s female hockey division. Camryn Drever, the team’s fifth-year starting goalie working toward a degree in the College of Education, noted the importance of this community involvement. 

“We need to give back as a sport. You take so much from hockey, and everybody always gives to you, but as a student athlete, it’s so important to give back as well,” Drever said. “The stuff that we do with the community I think is a good start.”

On the subject of legacies, the Huskies reflected on the inauguration of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) in 2023. Brown said that “it’s such an exciting time to be a hockey player.” Kook shared that USask currently has one alumna playing in the league: Kaitlin Willoughby, currently playing with PWHL Toronto.

“I think a lot of female hockey players growing up right now have something to look forward to and something to strive for, which would have been really nice growing up to have that,” said Ball.

Drever is having a historic season with the Huskies, and now holds the program record for the most wins in a regular season. She encourages others who are hopeful to be student athletes one day to take the chance. “Work hard and have a good attitude… If you work hard and put your soul into something, it’s going to give back, and you’ll feel that gratitude for the sport and the people around you.” 

Drever said that one of her favourite memories from her time with the Huskies has been spending time with her teammates at the rink every day. Others on the team shared similar sentiments. Zuchotski encouraged future student athletes to “enjoy every minute of it,” and Brown shared that “if you dedicate yourself to your sport, it is totally possible to make it happen for yourself.”

“It’s definitely a lot of work, and very busy a lot of times, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” said Ball. Ball is graduating this year and applying to the Occupational Therapy program at the University of Alberta; she hopes to continue having hockey as a part of her life, either through playing recreationally or coaching.

Ball, Brown, Zuchotski, and Drever were all a part of the Huskies team that won the bronze medal at the U SPORTS National Championship in Prince Edward Island in 2021. The veterans reflect on this experience as they approach the upcoming tournament at home. 

Many of the players noted that an even more powerful memory for them than the 2021 championship itself was their victory over the Mount Royal University Cougars in the Semi-Finals, which earned them their spot in Nationals. Zuchotski said that Mount Royal was ranked very highly that year, and the Huskies’ win was a huge underdog story. 

Kook reflects on the Huskies’ progress as this year’s championship approaches. 

“It brings me back to the days when we played at Rutherford, [and] it was the worst barn we had in the country… That’s where our identity came from. And there’s a saying that we brought from the men’s team, and it’s ‘Nobody outworks the dog.’ That’s how we identify ourselves,” said Kook. “All of a sudden we ended up here, but we try to keep that identity. It brings me full circle. It’s like hey, look where we came from, and look where we are.”

Kook, a USask alumnus himself, encourages students to enjoy being a Huskie, wearing green and coming to the games. He shared that one of the most rewarding outcomes of his career has been watching his players choose to stay in Saskatoon after they graduate. “It just means so much that their experience here was good, that they want to stick around and be part of it and call Saskatoon home.”

Zuchotski fondly reflects on her time with the Huskies, sharing that she’s made friends that she will keep for a lifetime. After completing her degree, Zuchotski hopes to get a Master’s Degree in sports psychology and to one day get into coaching.

Drever and Brown, who are both in their final season with the Huskies, said that they will miss the girls on the team but that they are also excited for what the next chapter might hold for everyone. Drever hopes to be a teacher someday, and is also hoping to play professionally in the future, possibly in Europe. Brown would like to coach if she is not playing in the future, knowing that hockey will continue to be a big part of her life. She also said that she is very passionate about her work in pharmacy and excited for what her career might bring.

“There’s such a culture of Huskies Athletics in terms of the community service that we do and honouring what it means to be a Huskie, which is really special,” said Brown. “It’s something that’s taught me to take a lot of pride in the things that I do, which is something that I hope to carry on when I graduate.”

Tickets for the U SPORTS National Championship at Merlis Belsher Place are now available at huskies.usask.ca. Gear up for an incredible weekend cheering on your Huskies Women’s Hockey team!