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A trailblazing goalie who made history as the first female player drafted to the Ontario Hockey League is eager to get back on the ice after a knee injury forced her to miss her freshman NCAA season.
Taya Currie was 16 when she made international headlines after being picked in the 14th round of the 2021 OHL draft by the Sarnia Sting, marking the first time a female player had been selected to one of the world’s top junior hockey leagues.
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While she didn’t play any OHL games, three years later the Parkhill native, now 19, is looking to make her mark in the women’s game at Providence College in Rhode Island. A torn ACL in training camp last year wiped out her first NCAA season, but she says she’s ready to hit the ice this fall with the Friars.
“I’m so excited. I can’t wait to get back,” Currie said. “It feels like I wasted a whole season, but I feel like the injury made me stronger and I’m ready to be back and be myself again.”
Currie played seven seasons on AAA boys teams in minor hockey before she was drafted by the Sarnia Sting, an experience she said pushed her to excel in the sport and that she considers instrumental in developing her speed, agility and reflexes.
“Everyone’s path is so unique, especially me having a different path playing boys’ hockey versus (playing with) other girls,” Currie said.
Looking back on the landmark draft pick, Sting general manager Dylan Seca says he knew the selection would aid Currie’s development as a player.
“When we drafted her, the whole point of it was to see, ‘Would she be able and ready to play in the OHL?’ While she was close, I think the doors opened (for playing) on the girls’ side pretty quickly and that’s just as exciting for her,” Seca said.
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“We’ve pretty much been champions of her career, so we’re excited to watch her.”
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Even though she missed playing last season, Currie said she enjoyed her first year at university in the U.S., thanks in no small part to time spent with her team.
“My teammates were great people, coaches were great, school was good,” Currie said. “Going through recovery was a bit tough at times, but I got through it.”
Currie is back in Ontario for August to train at the Hockey Studio in London and works at the facility as a coach, teaching her goalie skills to youths six to eight years old. She also runs an all-girls goaltender camp and said many girls who attend have told her they’re looking to follow a similar path to hers.
For Currie, although she enjoys school, her sights are set on a goaltending career. “I definitely want to play hockey afterward. Definitely a goal of mine.”
The Providence Friars season begins Oct. 4 when they take on St. Michael’s College on home ice.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
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