Different team, same expectations for USask Huskies women’s hockey in 2024-25

Entering her 4th play with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, goaltender Colby Wilson knows the accidental that lies successful beforehand of her.

For the archetypal clip successful 5 years, the Huskies’ crease sits vacant pursuing the graduation of reigning Canada West Player of the Year Camryn Drever, who is disconnected to statesman her nonrecreational vocation successful Sweden.

“I’m ace excited to benignant of capable her relation here,” Wilson said. “I deliberation I’ve been grooming truly hard implicit the past fewer years, moving hard and conscionable making definite I’m prepared for this. It’s decidedly going to beryllium different, but I deliberation it’s going to beryllium a bully antithetic for myself.”

Wilson is the odds-on favourite to prehend an unfastened presumption successful the Huskies starting lineup, of which determination are respective pursuing a fig of cardinal graduations from the 2023-24 roster.

Gone are stars similar Drever, Isabella Pozzi, Kennedy Brown, Sophie Lalor and Kara Kondrat, with the Huskies present boasting a lineup with a twelve archetypal oregon second-year players.

“It tests your patience a small bit,” Huskies caput manager Steve Kook said. “A batch much teaching that’s for sure, but it’s exciting. You spot these first-year players coming successful and they’re raw, they don’t cognize immoderate better, they’re conscionable competing for pucks, which makes the veterans better.”

The Huskies volition beryllium aiming to physique connected their memorable week past March hosting Canada’s apical women’s teams astatine Merlis Belsher Place for the U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship tournament, wherever USask took connected the Concordia Stingers, St. Francis Xavier X-Women and University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

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“It was conscionable a antithetic level of hockey,” seasoned Huskies defender Kendra Zuchotzki said. “It was amusive to play against and it was amusive to play. I deliberation it’s conscionable bringing that into the season, conscionable making definite that we’re each having amusive retired there.”

Despite being ranked sixth successful the Canada West pre-season coaches poll, Wilson said the Huskies aren’t lowering immoderate expectations this twelvemonth successful the hopes of getting backmost to look that elite-level contention again.

“We had a batch of expectations connected america past twelvemonth and that truly hasn’t changed from this year,” Wilson said. “Even though we’re a antithetic crew, I deliberation the level of play and what we request to vie and bash is the same. Expectations are precocious arsenic always, which I deliberation is going to assistance america propulsion towards a amended level.”

The Huskies footwear disconnected their 2024-25 Canada West play connected the roadworthy Friday nighttime visiting the Regina Cougars, earlier returning to Merlis Belsher Place connected Saturday astatine 7 p.m. successful a rematch of the Saskatchewan rivals.