Stellar Recruits - 2023 Edition

The image to the left is of the Perseid Meteor Shower which will be visible in North American skies this summer around August 13. There will be a number of meteors that hit our atmosphere that will make them look like shooting stars, and that's relevant today because we're pausing the AAGPBL biographies for a look at some stellar players who will be joining the ranks of Canada West next season who could be shooting stars on the ice!. Every summer, HBIC looks at the players who have committed to the nine schools for women's hockey, and we'll continue that tradition today by posting the known recruiting classes of each school!

Based on who graduated and who is incoming, Canada West women's hockey will, once again, be highly competitive this season. Teams and players have made decisions on whether or not full eligibility options can be exercised, and we've seen some players move on as they pursue careers, explore life outside the rink, and continue to further their education opportunities while others will return to seek a Canada West banner to cap off their university hockey careers.

As you read through these tables, "Current" is the last team or current team with which these players were associated while "Prv." is the province or state where that team is found. You'll also notice a few bolded names in yellow. The bolded names in yellow are players who transferred in from other institutions who have used part of their five years of eligibility. The paragraph below the table will explain how many years those players have left in terms of being an eligible player.

With that information, here are all the players joining the nine Canada West teams in 2023-24.

Canada West Recruits

Alberta Pandas

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Grace Glover	Westman	MB	G	1.42	.943
Ella Stewner	Balmoral Hall	MB	D	12	25

In an usually small recruiting class, the Alberta Pandas went out and picked up two players from Manitoba who were difference-makers on their teams. Grace Glover was the MFHL's playoff MVP two seasons ago after helping the Westman Wildcats to the MFHL title, and she followed that up by helping Westman back to the MFHL Final this season before falling to the Winnipeg Ice. Ella Stewner is dangerous with the puck every time it touches her blade, and she's very good in her own zone when it comes to cutting off angles and moving the puck up the ice. Head coach Howie Draper identified where he needed talent, and he went and found it.

Calgary Dinos

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Jada Johns	Regina	SK	D	2	17
Brooklyn Fry	Saskatoon	SK	D	7	11
Solana Cooper	Fraser Valley	BC	F	12	19
Kyla Mitenko	Edge School	AB	F	13	21
Evelyn Lawrence	Calgary	AB	F	3	10
Caitlyn Perlinger	Swift Current	SK	D	9	16

Carla MacLeod has really assembled a strong recruiting class for the 2023-24 season. She has three very good defenders who can contribute offensively in Johns, Fry, and Perlinger. Cooper and Mitenko have all sorts of offensive upside as forwards. Lawrence is a tiny player at 5'2", but she skates like the wind. She doesn't have the same offensive numbers as some of her colleagues coming into the program, but coaches can't teach speed and that's where Lawrence may find an advantage in Canada West. As we've seen with players like MacDougall and Ko, it's the size of the fight in the player, not the size of the player on the ice.

MacEwan Griffins

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Maria Ayre	Northern Alberta	AB	F	13	12
Jesse Jack	Olds College (ACAC)	AB	F	4	2
Tess Bakus	Swift Current	SK	D	1	8
Letta Mattheos	St. Mary's Academy	MB	F	8	10
Ella Maternick	Winnipeg Ice	MB	F	16	18
Brooke Norkus	Delta	BC	D	2	11
Ashton Bender	Weyburn	SK	F	4	7
Ali Macaulay	Olds College (ACAC)	AB	D	1	8

In one of the larger recruiting classes in Canada West, head coach Chris Leeming is putting his mark on the program by bringing in players he knows while finding others than fit his systems. He went back to his ACAC coaching days to bring Jesse Jack and Ali Macaulay who were captaining the Broncos, and will likely be leaned on for leadership as veteran players. It should be noted that Jack has one final year remaining in her eligibility while Macaulay has three years remaining. The Griffins added some offence to the lowest-scoring team by recruiting both Ayre and Maternick. They got some work ethic and grit in Mattheos and Bender. And they added another solid defender whose offensive skills might be overlooked in Bakus. MacEwan needed help on a number of fronts, and this recruiting class helps the Griffins fill some of those voids.

Manitoba Bisons

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Ali Staples	Winnipeg Ice	MB	D	3	13
Sadie Keller	Swift Current	SK	F	12	23
Sophia Anderson	Westman	MB	F	10	16
Julia Bilous	St. Mary's Academy	MB	D	5	15
Bianca Zak	Mount Allison (AUS)	NB	G	3.37	.919

If one were to judge Jon Rempel's recruiting class strictly on talent, one would be pretty content with who he's bringing to Winnipeg. Staples and Bilous play good positional defence while being able to transition the puck up the ice. Anderson and Keller have shown a knack for scoring and leadership. Zak comes in after an MVP season out in New Brunswick. However, not all is what it seems as the Fluffy Cows have had a few players opt out of the program (including possibly one of the above players), and there are more glaring holes than just on the porous defence shown last season. While injuries took key players out of the lineup one season ago, there are a number of players who need to step up this season if the Fluffy Cows aim to join the playoff crowd in February once more. Potentially adding all of these players, though, will make the Fluffy Cows much better in a number of departments.

Mount Royal Cougars

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Kate Holan	St. Albert Slash	AB	G	1.73	.919
Gabby Lindsay	Okanagan	BC	F	7	13
Jersey Watteyne	Swift Current	SK	F	26	17
Ryann Holbein	Red Deer	AB	D	4	22
Summer Fomradas	Calgary Fire	AB	D	15	15
Julia Duke	Okanagan	BC	F	16	15
Ashley Grice	Regina	SK	F	8	20
Jordynne Hojnocki	Okanagan	BC	D	5	7

It was fairly well-known that the defending National Women's Ice Hockey Champions were likely going into rebuild mode this summer with a number of key veteran players graduating out of the program. Head coach Scott Rivett went to work and found himself a number of player who will key roles on the Mount Royal Cougars for years to come. Lindsay, Duke, Watteyne, and Grice have all sorts of offensive capabilities to offer as the Cougars reload their front-end. Holbein and Fomradas were two of the best defenders at both ends of the ice to come out of the AFHL this season while Hojnocki didn't light the world on fire with her stats, but she played in every situation for Okanagan. Holan will battle for a backup spot behind Kaitlyn Ross this season. No one will count the Cougars out, but this recruiting class could prove to be the backbone of another deep playoff run soon!

Regina Cougars

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Julianne Girardin	Weyburn	SK	D	4	5
Tessa Stewart	Interlake	MB	F	6	6
Alexis VanNetten	Stoney Creek	ON	F	11	11

Canada West's youngest team last season will likely be close to holding that title once more, but we'll have to do the math once the season starts. I say that because head coach Sarah Hodges picked up the leading scorer of the Stoney Creek Sabres in Alexis VanNetten who is 19 already, potentially bumping the average age up. Hodges was also strengthening the defence by adding Julianne Girardin who was good at both ends for a not-so-good Weyburn team, and she added smooth-skating Tessa Stewart who has good vision and hockey sense to find scoring opportunities. Regina will be better with these three players on the roster this season!

Saskatchewan Huskies

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Kahlen Wisener	Winnipeg Avros	MB	F	15	23
Ava Bergman	Winnipeg Ice	MB	F	8	3
Makenna Stevens	Okanagan	BC	D	0	9

With the vast majority of the team returning this season, head coach Steve Kook only needed to fill a few roster spots, but he did well in getting some quality players for those vacant spots. Kahlen Wisener was a force all season long for the Avros while Ava Bergman showed good finish around the net after a slow start to the season. Makenna Stevens is exactly the kind of shutdown defender Steve likes on his blue line. With a veteran group this season, this recruiting class may not play in many games, but they'll learn a ton from the current Huskies and their experiences in playng at Nationals in Saskatoon!

Trinity Western Spartans

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Brooke Dorash	St. Albert	AB	F	2	7
Kasey Ditner	NAX	BC	D	4	7
Presleigh Giesbrecht	Post (NCAA)	CT	D	0	2

Trinity Western may have surprised everyone last season with their first-ever playoff appearance in Canada West, but I suspect that the other eight teams won't take them lightly this year. In saying that, head coach Jean Laforest opted to recruit some hard-working players whose statistic numbers may fool everyone. Brooke Dorash was an alternate captain with the Slash and she doesn't shy away from board battles while competing for spots in front of the net. Ditner is a strong skater who has some offensive jump to her game while Giesbrecht is everything that a coach could want in a right-shot, shutdown defender that makes opposition forwards earn every inch of space on the ice. Giesbrecht, it should be noted, has four years of eligibility remaining as well. Trinity Western's recruiting class isn't flashy, but they make the Spartans a much more difficult opponent!

UBC Thunderbirds

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Hannah Perrier	Okanagan	BC	F	11	9
Gabrielle Gracia	Okanagan	BC	F	2	2
Leighanna Rizarri	Calgary Fire	AB	F	5	8
Jaylyn Morris	Delta	BC	D	5	17
Mya Lucifora	Whitby Wolves	ON	G	1.56	.930
Makenzie McCallum	McGill (RSEQ)	PQ	F	7	10

The two-time defending Canada West champions had a few graduates this season, so head coach Graham Thomas scoured the country for talent. Both Gracia and Rizarri were '21-22 graduates from their programs, so it will be interesting to see if the year off will affect their play. Perrier combines hard work and a knack for scoring in her game, Morris moves the puck well and could be another fantastic contributor from the blue line, and goaltender Lucifora will push Elise Hugens in the crease after jumping into Canada West from Ontario. McCallum, as a transfer, has two more seasons of U SPORTS play, and she brings a nose for the net combined with good leadership. For a team with very few holes, the UBC Thunderbirds are ready to fly once again!

Of course, it's still the offseason and priorities can change, so nothing here is written in stone. I've read through the U SPORTS Letter of Intent list, the various websites with recruitment information, and the teams' social media accounts more than I'd like to admit up to this point in the summer, but this should be a solid list of Canada West recruits for all nine teams up to and including today as far as I know. If I missed someone, please get in touch with me ASAP so I can make those additions, but I think this is a fairly complete listing of the new stars joining Canada West at this point. If I did miss someone, I apologize profusely in advance!

With the schedule out and teams preparing for September's preseason games, there's going to be a massive infusion of talent into the Canada West women's hockey conference once more this year. I'm excited to see how this season plays out!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!