The Rundown - Extended Family

With it being the holiday season, there's likely a chance that you'll be at a family gathering where you'll encounter extended family. Most of these people you know, but there could be that odd aunt, uncle, or cousin whose attendance at those family functions isn't as regular. That's what today's edition of The Rundown is all about - catching up with those former U SPORTS players who are playing in faraway lands, but still helped to build the programs into what they are today.

I started this last season, but it seems appropriate for us to ask an obvious question: what happens after players graduate or leave programs? As we know, some will have earned degrees and can go off and work in those chosen fields, but a lot of women want to keep playing hockey as the competitive fires continue to burn. Where are they doing that? Who might be looking for talented hockey players to improve their standing in their respective leagues and capture a championship? We'll answer some of those questions today.

Once more, I spent time scouring all the leagues as I went looking at all the former U SPORTS players who are off playing professionally at some level across the planet. Some leagues have many former U SPORTS players playing while other leagues do not, but the coolest part, I think, is seeing how many women are still pursuing their hockey dreams while, in some cases, travelling to amazing places to play hockey. I won't lie when I say I'm envious of some of these players based on where they call home for this season, but that's the benefit of being an outstanding player whose talents are coveted.

Let's get into these leagues and see which U SPORTS players are playing, and we'll work through as many leagues as possible. What should be noted is that a number of the schools who once had these women playing for them have done very little to draw attention to the success they're having after these players left those respective campuses, so I'll once again fill that void as I normally do.

Without further adieu, let's take a look at who's playing where.

SWHL - Switzerland

This league is also named the PostFinance Women's Hockey League.

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Estelle Duvin	SC Bern	13	17	19	Montreal
Joelle Fiala	HC Davos	5	11	23	UBC
Lea MacLeod	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Langenthal‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	6	9	25	StFX
Lauren Dabrowski	Fribourg	5	14	23	StFX
Kaleigh Quennec	SC Bern	3	5	14	Montreal
Jessika Boulanger	Langenthal	3	2	24	Montreal
Dominique Scheurer	ZSC Lions	1	1	19	MacEwan

There are less former U SPORTS players playing in Switzerland than there was last season, but there are still good players who are scoring points for their teams. The only conference not represented in Switzerland is the OUA, and we may see both Kaleigh Quennec and Dominique Scheurer skating in Milano-Cortina for the Swiss team come February. French-born Estelle Duvin sits sixth-overall in scoring after winning the scoring title last season with 54 points.

EWHL - Central Europe

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Ashley Taciuk	SKN Sabres	12	15	16	Nipissing
Lauren Nicholson	Almaty	11	14	15	TMU
Jaime Magoffin	SKN Sabres	10	14	16	Guelph
Breanne Trotter	Almaty	9	12	17	Mount Royal
Léonie Philbert	EV Bozen	4	17	16	Concordia
Maggie Peterson	Kärnten	8	12	18	Windsor
Emily Baxter	Budapest	7	12	12	TMU
Katherine Birkby	Almaty	11	7	17	Ottawa
Emma Hall	Kärnten	7	7	18	UBC
Rebecca Clarke	Salzburg	4	10	18	Calgary
Megan Breen	Budapest	3	8	12	TMU
Majorie Bolduc	Kärnten	5	4	9	Bishop's
Meaghan Chittick‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	SKN Sabres	3	5	15	Guelph
Kate Wagner	Almaty	3	5	17	Calgary
Mariah Hinds	Almaty	1	4	13	TMU
Alex Gowie	SKN Sabres	2	2	8	Calgary/Alberta
Kate Gallant	Kärnten	0	0	7	Saint Mary's
Roxanne Rioux	Almaty	1	5	17	Ottawa

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	GP	University
Alice Philbert	EV Bozen	n/a	1.55	.936	16	Concordia
Rachel Seeley	Almaty	n/a	2.25	.895	10	TMU

There's definitely a wider range of players skating in the EWHL when it comes to conferences. Ashley Taciuk sits in second-place for league scoring while Lauren Nicholson is third-overall. For the shortage of OUA players in Switzerland, the league that plays in Poland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, and Kazakhstan boasts the most U SPORTS players in Europe this season! And there's probably room for more!

SDHL - Sweden

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Jaycee Magwood‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Luleå‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	8	14	26	Regina
Mathea Fischer	SDE	8	12	27	UBC
Sarah Bujold	Luleå	8	8	25	StFX
Erica Rieder	Luleå	4	9	26	Manitoba
Emma Bergesen	Brynäs	0	1	5	Mount Royal
Sophie Lalor	HV71	0	0	3	Saskatchewan
Chanreet Bassi	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Linköping‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	0	0	3	UBC

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	University
Camryn Drever	Skellefteå	8-8-0	2.29	.918	Saskatchewan

Five Canada West schools have players skating in the SDHL which is considered the second-best women's league on the planet. Sarah Bujold is a former U SPORTS Player of the Year, so she can clearly hold her own as well. Magwood is eighth-overall in league scoring, but she finds herself eleven points back of the leaders. Between the pipes, Camryn Drever is keeping Skellefteå in the hunt at sixth-overall, but it's a four-way race for first-place between Luleå, Brynäs, SDE, and Frölunda in the ten-team league. HV71 appears to be eliminated from the playoffs despite mathematically being alive.

DFEL - Germany

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Madelyn Walsh	Eisbären Berlin	2	7	18	Brock
Shani Rossignol	Mad Dogs Mannheim	6	1	18	Moncton
Lore Baudrit	ERC Ingolstadt	3	2	12	Montreal
Alix Yallowega	ERC Ingolstadt	2	4	18	Dalhousie

There are less U SPORTS players playing in Germany this season, but credit goes to the four players who are calling Germany home. Madelyn Walsh is having a solid campaign as she has nine points from the blueline for the Eisbären Berlin as the leading U SPORTS player, but Memmingen has a 14-point lead over Budapest and a 15-point lead over Berlin in the standings. Mannheim might be out of the race.

NDHL - Sweden

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Cassidy Maplethorpe	Rögle SK	21	28	12	BRK/ALB
Hunter Mosher	Södertälje	7	13	12	Nipissing
Scout Southward	Almtuna IS	11	8	10	QUE/TOR
Sophie Lalor	Troja-Ljungby	10	6	9	Saskatchewan
Aimee O'Neill	Hammarby	8	6	12	Saint Mary's
Mackenzie Drake	Troja-Ljungby	7	2	11	Dalhousie
Jesse Jack	Troja-Ljungby	3	0	2	MacEwan

A handful of U SPORTS players are playing in Sweden's second-division professional league, and all of these teams are looking for promotion to the SDHL this season. Former Badgers and Pandas sniper Cassidy Maplethorpe is torching the league by leading in goals and assists, and has a nine-point lead over second-leading scorer Sara Boucher who plays with Maplethorpe for Rögle SK. Rögle SK, it should be noted is 11-0-0-1 while Hunter Mosher's Södertälje squad is tied for first-overall with a 10-0-2-0 record. Keep an eye on those teams!

PWHL - North America

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Jade Downie-Landry	Montreal Victoire	0	0	0	McGill
Rylind MacKinnon	Boston Fleet	0	0	5	UBC
Emmy Fecteau	New York Sirens	0	0	6	Concordia
Catherine Dubois	Montreal Victoire	0	0	3	Montreal
Kaitlyn Willoughby	Montreal Victoire	0	1	5	Saskatchewan
Alexandra Labelle	Montreal Victoire	0	1	5	Montreal
Kelly-Ann Nadeau	Montreal Victoire	0	0	5	Montreal
Jade Downie-Landry	Montreal Victoire	0	0	0	McGill

When Montreal has 75% of the U SPORTS players in the league and they're the only Canadian team to boast Canadian university-trained players, it would appear that selling the PWHL dream to Canadian university players might be a pipe dream. That being said, good on Danièle Sauvageau for believing in these players. As you can see, none of them have exploded out of the gates when it comes to filling the net, but they're all contributing in their own various ways.

IHLW - Italy

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	University
Gabriella Durante	Real Torino	n/a	1.69	.947	Calgary

Gabriella Durante has played in just four games this season, but she's continuing her strong play that we saw in Canada West and last season in Italy. It would be ridiculous for me to suggest she'll be a starter for the Italian team when they have Martina Fedel, Elisa Biondi, and Margherita Ostoni competing for spots, but the two U SPORTS netminders - Fedel and Durante - should have the inside track on an Olympic roster spot when it comes to Milano-Cortina!

Naisten Suomi-Sarja - Finland

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Miressa Mäkelä‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎HIFK Challenger‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	1	1	2	Manitoba

Mäkelä is playing her second season in Finland's Division-II level of hockey, but "playing" might be more of a fill-in role when she's needed as she has five games in just over a season to her name. She was injured in her only season of Canada West hockey, and she didn't make it until the end of the season. She returned home and rejoined her old team prior to the Canada West season ending.

Women's Extraliga - Czechia

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Martina Maskova‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎HC Banik Pribram‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	2	1	2	Regina

Maskova has barely played this year, but she's back with Banik Pribram for another season. Like Mäkelä above, she seems to be playing either on a part-time basis. Maskova has been playing with Banik Pribram since leaving the University of Regina in 2021. She does not play on the Czechia national team so no Olympics for her.

FFHG Féminin Élite - France

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Emmanuelle Passard	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Jets d’Evry-Viry‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	12	9	6	Montreal

There are no Canadians playing in France this year, but the Université de Montréal does have a player skating in her home country. Passard is third-overall in league scoring, and three points back of the leader. It seems that playing for les Carabins may have paid off for her!

LIHH - Spain

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Courtney Kollman‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎CG Puigcerdà‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	21	18	10	MRU/CAL
Annaliese Meier‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎CG Puigcerdà‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	7	6	9	Calgary

Kollman and Meier have helped CG Puigcerdà to a tie for second-place in the Liga Nacional de Hockey Hielo femenina while Kollman sits in second-place for league scoring behind a 20 year-old named Eva Aizpurua who has a 13-point lead on Kollman. Both have sat a few games here and there, but I don't think Puigcerdà will complain about either's production considering the team is 9-2-0 on the season with games in-hand. Spain has been good to these two former Dinos.

AWIHL - Australia

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Jordan Kulbida‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Adelaide‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	8	7	10	Regina
Danielle Butler‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Melbourne‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	10	2	10	Windsor
Katherine Bailey‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Perth‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	2	5	10	Guelph
Kelsie Lang‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Sydney‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	1	10	10	Calgary
Madison LaPlante‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Brisbane‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	3	4	6	Windsor
Alison Carlisle‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Brisbane‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	1	0	6	Trinity Western

It's actually pretty impressive to see this many former U SPORTS players continuing to play the game in Australia. With the growth of men's hockey in that country, the women's game has followed with most of the Australian women's national team playing at home. Jordan Kulbida leads the Rush in scoring, and she's tied for sixth-overall in league scoring. She was a big part of the Rush offence last season, and she continues to carry that offensive load this year!

NZWIHL - New Zealand

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Brooke Patron‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Auckland Steel‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	8	5	8	Saskatchewan

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	University
Alexa Gibson	Auckland Steel	4-0-0	1.61	.939	Ottawa

It should be noted that these numbers are from the 2024-25 season that concluded in the summer as the NZWIHL plays during the southern hemisphere's winter as opposed to the summer which is happening now. Regardless, I wanted to make sure these two players got the recognition they deserve because Patron was third-overall in league scoring this past season while Gibson had the top GAA and save percentage. Auckland won the NZWIHL championship this season with Patron being named the top defender! Congratulations to her!

There's the list of players I could find who are playing professionally in some corner of the globe. There are 68 total players who represent 25 U SPORTS schools out of the 35 schools that have varsity hockey teams! That's a heckuva testament to the skill level being produced across this country when 71% of the schools have someone playing professionally! Will there be more players in new homes next season?

More locally, all nine teams in Canada West are represented by at least one player, and 29 former Canada West athletes are playing professional hockey. That's an amazing achievement that's only equalled by the four-team RSEQ conference, so Canada West certainly deserves some kudos. The Calgary Dinos have seven players skating professionally, UBC has five players, Saskatchewan has four players, Regina and Mount Royal have three each while each of Manitoba, Alberta, and MacEwan have two skaters, and Trinity Western has one player who is playing professionally. Again, well done, Canada West, on developing these outstanding athletes!

To all the players who opted to either take a season off or move on to another chapter of life, you're not forgotten either. As stated above, you laid the bricks for the path that future generations will follow, and those efforts will not be ignored by this writer. Your circumstances may have changed for any number of reasons, but your contributions at the university hockey level and beyond will always be appreciated. Thank you for laying the path for the next stars!

The Last Word

This was a long entry that took a lot of time to compile and write, so I hope you enjoyed the look at all the players who are skating professionally somewhere this season. These women still are, in this writer's view, some of the best to have ever played the game at any level, and I wish them all the best this season and beyond, even if that beyond takes them away from the game at some point.

For all players, coaches, staff, fans, parents, and former players who make this game so good, I hope everyone has a very merry holiday season, that health and happiness find you in whatever form you desire, and that everyone is surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones during this season. It's the most wonderful time of year, and then we get the rush of playoff races before the big dance starts!

Happy holidays, everyone! All the best to you and yours including extended family no matter where they find themselves this year!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!