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Maple Ridge hockey player only B.C. woman to make rookie of the year watch list

Maddie Leaney is 1 of 26 players on the Hockey Commissioners Association list
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Maddie Leaney of Union College was named as one of the players on the Hockey Commissioners Association’s National Women’s Rookie of the Year watch list. (Union College/Special to The News)

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.

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.

READ ALSO: Maple Ridge forward signs with Coquitlam Express



Brandon Tucker

About the Author: Brandon Tucker

I have been a journalist since 2013, with much of my career spent covering sports and entertainment stories in Alberta.
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