Most university students spent their Christmas break decompressing from the stress of the first semester, but Carleton Ravens women’s hockey player Andrea Kollova spent her holidays in Norway competing with the Slovakian women’s national hockey team from Dec. 16-18 with hopes of qualifying for the 2018 Olympics.
Despite being eliminated after losing to Norway in the final round, Kollova said it was an experience that she will always remember. The 19-year-old forward recalls not being able to sleep the night that she got the call saying that she was chosen to be a part of the team.
“It was very exciting because I got to meet a lot of the older players that played in the Olympics in Vancouver for Team Slovakia,” she said. “These players gave us great experience, and I had the honour to play with one of the team captains that was in Vancouver.”
In addition to learning from the veterans, Kollova said she was able to bring the skills she learned playing for the Ravens to the team, including playing a more physical game.
According to the Kosice, Slovakia native, the European style of hockey was hard to get used to.
“I think that here in North America, for the Carleton Ravens, I’ve learned how to play the body a lot more than before to really help the team,” she said. “Here in North America we play a lot more aggressive and fight for every puck. I’ve found that European hockey is much more technical.”
Her stint with the national team comes after missing almost a month with the Ravens due to a concussion, which she said was hard for her to deal with.
“It was very hard for me because it was my first concussion and I’m far from home,” she said. “It was pretty hard, but I came back pretty early and I got great support from my team, from my coaches, from our team doctor, and also from school.”
Now that she’s back with the Ravens, she said she is looking toward the future and making the playoffs with the team.
“The plan for the Ravens are to get to the playoffs,” she said. “We have a very young team with skilled players and some players that are older.”
“I think it is a really good level of hockey,” Kollova said.
As for what she plans to do after graduation, she said she might go back to Slovakia and open a restaurant with a few of her friends there, but Kollova does not know if she will continue with hockey.
Kollova said that it has been her dream since day one to be part of the national team, but she wants to do something that will allow her to be sustainable.
“The level of world hockey and the [National Women’s Hockey League] is very high,” she said.
“I love hockey, but I think that for my future I think it’s better to spend my time working and building something that I can support my family in the future.”
– Photo is provided.
