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Banff Hockey Academy Bears female program celebrates 10th season

“For me as a coach, [I want to] learn as much as I can and give my best from my experiences of what I had and if we can go with that for whole season, I will be satisfied in the end."

BANFF – Big changes in Banff Hockey Academy (BHA) Bears offseason have given the female prep team a “refreshed” look for its milestone season starting this week.

The puck officially drops at 1 p.m. Friday (Sept. 27) at Banff Fenlands arena for the female team's 10th season, when the Bears look to stamp out the St. Mary’s Flames.

During the game, the team will have a new look on and off the ice.

Bill Doherty is stepping up as the fourth head coach of the Banff team, which also welcomes a new associate coach and Olympian, Petra Pravlíková, to the program, as well as a near complete overhaul of its roster from a season ago.

For coaches, new and old, the 10th year anniversary season offers an energizing outlook.

“[It's] refreshing as a whole and I think it’s really nice to show what we offer as a team and what we bring to the table,” said Kaylee Ram, who’s entering her third season on the coaching staff.

"It's really rewarding to be part of the academy and to see how far its come."

Ram was on the ice during the female prep team’s very first faceoff ten seasons ago and has “gone full circle with the program."

Pravlíková, the newest of the coaching staff, was most notably known for being a member of Slovakia’s women’s Olympic team in Vancouver in 2010.

She said she’s looking forward to learning more Canadian methods and teaching a combination of the European and North American styles on the ice.

“For me as a coach, [I want to] learn as much as I can and give my best from my experiences of what I had, and if we can go with that for the whole season, I will be satisfied in the end,” she said.

For second-year Bear Kylie LaRiviere, a Grade 10 blueliner, she’s excited for the new look team and to be a pupil under her new Olympian coach.

LaRiviere said said she hopes to learn a lot from Pravlíková.

“I’m hoping to understand the plays, understand what it takes to be an Olympian and what you need to do and what you have to do to be an Olympian,” she said.

A brief history of BHA female prep coaches and teams

Kendall Newell was BHA’s first female prep head coach and served four seasons. During that time, BHA won back-to-back Alberta Junior Female Hockey League regular season championships and a Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL) title in its first season.

Ram said the "special first year" team had 10 skaters and recalled her defence partner played an astonishing 58 minutes one game.

"She didn't play a full 60 minutes only because she got a penalty," Ram said.

Cassea Schols became the team’s second head coach and spent two seasons with the club. During her tenure, Schols, a former NCAA division I player, greatly aided the development and was a mentor to the teenage girls.

BHA female prep’s third head coach, former NHL winger Mikko Makela, spent three seasons in Banff. The “Flying Finn” was in charge of leading the program into new ground in 2016-17 as part of a new female division in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, which saw a full 26-game regular season and playoff schedule.


Jordan Small

About the Author: Jordan Small

An award-winning reporter, Jordan Small has covered sports, the arts, and news in the Bow Valley since 2014. Originally from Barrie, Ont., Jordan has lived in Alberta since 2013.
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