PWHL stars inspire next generation of goalies at Hamilton camp

Some of the top female goalies in Canada are in Hamilton this week at a girls hockey camp.

With the PWHL and its expansion to markets like Hamilton, young players now have something to strive for in the sport they love.

Thirteen-year-old Madison Oakley has a dream: “I hope to go division one and hopefully play in the PWHL.”

When she started playing, the Professional Women’s Hockey League wasn’t around, but now it’s expanded to 12 teams.

“It gives hope because there’s a lot more opportunity now. Before when there were only 6 teams there was less space for the players to go,” says Oakley.

She, along with 53 other young female hockey players are attending a four day camp at the LIUNA 4 Ice Centre on Hamilton Mountain. They are learning from some of the best women goalies in the country, including Olympic Gold Medalist Kristen Campbell, who plays net for the Vancouver Goldeneyes.

“It’s something as a kid I never got to experience. I would come to these types of camps and it would be all boys and I would be the only girl. It’s so special to be able to have a camp like this,” says Campbell.

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“It’s not so far out of reach. I’ve been talking to a lot of these PWHL goalies and these goalies and they were once in house league. They’ve been shot at, they’ve been beaten down,” says Shannon Henderson, the organizer of the KC Elite Goaltending Camp. “But it just goes to show them that if you keep pushing forward, this is your dream and you can get there.”

Fifteen-year-old Olivia Mitchell says having five PWHL goalies to learn from is exciting.

“It’s very important. You’re developing here and you can ask all the silly questions that you wouldn’t be able to ask at normal practices because there are professionals here and they can answer those silly questions for you,” says Mitchell.

Campbell is going into her fourth year in the professionals and says it was hard work and determination that got her there and that’s what she wants to pass on to these girls.

“For me it was always, I just wanted to go to the highest level of hockey possible. Even from when I was in grade 5. But seeing the skill level of these kids, it’s way beyond where I was at that age, so that’s exciting,” says Campbell.

Who knows, maybe one day these girls will be playing for the hometown team.

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