Hockey is a sport of hardship. The Ravens women’s hockey team knows this, with a high turnover and new influx of players. Five players from last year’s team have graduated, and currently there are 12 rookies in the mix.
Emma Dahlgren is one of those rookies. The five-foot-eight centre from Mississauga is one of the key new additions to the Ravens.
The addition of Dahlgren, who describes herself as a power forward with good play making skills, is especially needed after a year that saw the Ravens lose to the McGill University Martlets in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Dahlgren, who is entering her first year of communications at Carleton, faced a setback that many hockey players can relate to—a concussion.
While playing for the Etobicoke Dolphins, Dahlgren said she headed awkwardly into the boards. She managed to leave the rink on her own accord, but said she knew later on that her head did not feel exactly right.
Dahlgren said after some testing she found out she had sustained a concussion and would have to sit out the rest of the season. This wiped out Dahlgren’s season for her last year of high school.
“It probably took about seven months until I was 100 per cent,” Dahlgren said. “It’s made me a stronger person realizing what could happen.”
This determination paid off, as Ravens head coach Shelley Coolidge said Dahlgren had an “outstanding” training camp.
“Emma’s results are better than a number of our returning athletes,” Coolidge said. “We’re really happy with what she’s going to bring.”
Dahlgreen said she’s thankful she can still play.
“I just hope to bring what coach Shelley saw in me and that’s a strong power forward that’s good at playmaking. I’m someone who can communicate well with the team and the coach. [I] can bring people up when they are down,” Dahlgren said.
Over the next couple of weeks, the Ravens will finalize their roster in time for the start of the regular season Oct. 19 against the Concordia University Stingers.
