By / Kristi Patton
Hockey has taken Kristen Hagg to places she never expected, some right in her own backyard of Edmonton.
While the locations weren’t always the same, the one thing that remains a constant is her name featured on leader board lists and under championship titles.
“I would have never imagined that hockey would take me this far. For the most part, when I was younger I played for fun because I loved hockey,” said Hagg. It wasn’t until high school that I became aware that it was also an opportunity to go to university, play in Europe or be a part of the Western Women’s Hockey League.”
The second-year Edmonton Chimos forward currently sits in second place on the WWHL scoring leaders list with 15 points in ten games. Not an unfamiliar spot for the talented point-producer who has four Canada Interuniversity Sports National Championships and is on the record books for the most assists in a season in the CIS while skating for the University of Alberta Pandas.
It was during her tenure as a Panda when she heard about an opportunity to play overseas, landing her in Salzburg, Austria for a season. To no surprise, Hagg, won the Elite Women’s Hockey League scoring title race in Europe.
“They are not on the same level as here but it is relatively good hockey. I went more for the experience of doing something different and challenging. There were the language limitations but it was fun to be part of something like that,” said Hagg.
From there, Hagg has filled out her spot on the Chimos roster quite well. And, if there is one move she can predict it is that her team will be battling tooth and nail for that coveted second place position in the WWHL. |