A Maple Ridge hockey player stands alone as the only B.C. athlete to make the Hockey Commissioners Association’s National Women’s Rookie of the Year watch list.
This annual list of first-year NCAA female hockey players includes 26 star-studded players, one of whom is Maddie Leaney from Maple Ridge.
Leaney, who currently plays for Union College in New York, joins nine other ECAC Hockey players on the watch list, which is by far the most players chosen from any of the five conferences included.
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The 19-year-old has had an impressive first year with Union College, putting up 16 points in 28 games and even earning the first hat trick of her collegiate career only six games into the season.
She has already earned an ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month award and was the runner-up for the HCA National Rookie of the Month award in October.
Maddie with the Hatty!
— ECAC Hockey (@ecachockey) November 2, 2023
Union's @Maddie_Leaney posted 8 points including 2 GWGs and a hat trick in @UnionWHockey's opening month of play and has earned the first Women's Rookie of the Month award this season.
Leaney averaged 0.67 pts/game and blocked seven shots.#ECACHockey pic.twitter.com/UzdnVd5iHC
Now Leaney could be honoured on the national stage, but will face some pretty tough competition along the way.
The winner will be decided by the assistant coaches in each division, who will cast their ballot for their choice of the women’s rookie of the year, with the winner announced during the Frozen Four NCAA Championship in March.