Katelyn Steele
Women’s hockey second-year goalie Katelyn Steele said she has admired the game of hockey for as long as she can remember.
Growing up in Markham Ont., she said she was intrigued by the game when she watched her brother and father play. She described it as something that has always been in the family.
Steele didn’t become a goaltender until the age of seven, but her records this season might have people believing she’s done it her whole life.
Although hockey has always been an important part of Steele’s life, she said education comes before anything else. Her choice to play at Carleton was based on the impressive criminology program at the school.
“I chose criminology before hockey. It just turned out the year I was coming here the team was losing their goalie, so it worked out perfectly,” Steele said.
Eleven games into the season, Steele has a .929 save percentage, which ranks her 17th in the 2015-16 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) women’s hockey player statistics. She has made 366 saves in these eleven games.
Steele said she owes her success to the fact that she stuck to the workout program better during the off-season as opposed to last year. She added it helps she has been training for this since a young age.
Steele’s coach Pierre Alain said he believes the summer was very good for her, as she has now become the team’s number one goalie. He said he has seen a change in her leadership skills and her ability to take charge.
“She is great on and off the ice as a hockey player and a leader,” Alain said. “She has a big part in the success of the team. Goaltending in women’s hockey is huge, and she is doing a great job.”
Alain said he also believes her success is due to her belief in herself, her ability to know what she’s doing, and the relationship she shares with the goalie coach, Tom Dempsey. Dempsey has been a part of the program for a long time, and Alain said he knows how to ensure she continues to be successful.
Ravens defenceman Robyn Belland said Steele always plays her heart out and allows the team a chance to win because of this.
“Her work ethic helps out the team because her performances make us all want to work harder,” Belland said. “Every game she is arguably the best player on the ice and that’s the way she leads.”
Belland said Steele inspires her to be a better defenceman, as she communicates well and makes sure she does everything she can to help when she feels pressured.
“The trust and faith we have in Kate [Steele] to stop pucks allows our defence to have full confidence in pinching or rushing the puck,” Belland said.
Steele said defence is one of the keys to her success, as they are strong and support the team by keeping the puck to the outside.
Through all of Steele’s successes this season, she said her win against the first place McGill Martlets as a dream come true.
“I can’t even describe it. It is something you dream of when you know they are on top. It was a crazy feeling,” Steele said.
Steele will continue her quest to lead her team to the final Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec playoff spot.
Brett Welychka
Although forward Brett Welychka may be a rookie to the CIS, the former Ontario Hockey League (OHL) captain has had an immediate impact on the Carleton Ravens hockey program.
After spending three successful seasons with his hometown team, the London Knights, Welychka was traded in his final year with the OHL to the Belleville Bulls, where he would assume the role of captain. This was the Bulls’ final season in Belleville, before being relocated to Hamilton.
Welychka was not the first Belleville Bull to sign with the Carleton Ravens for the 2015-16 season — teammate Brett Gustavsen joined the program in May of 2015. This season brought strong recruitment for the Ravens.
Welychka did not have any trouble adjusting from the OHL to the CIS.
“The OHL did a good job developing me as a player and teaching me how to play with older guys,” Welychka said. “The guys on the team did a great job for all the first-year guys by helping us out on and off of the ice. It was a very warm welcome and it was easy to get comfortable.”
In his CIS debut game, Welychka started off with a two goal performance. After losing three of Carleton’s top scorers, Welychka showed he had what it would take to fill their shoes.
Welychka also earned Ontario University Athletics (OUA) play-of-the-week for his one-timer goal during the same game. That was only the beginning—the remainder of the first half Welychka continued to put up points for the Ravens.
After playing 18 games this season, his 32 points have tied him for second in the CIS. He trails by three points behind first place Samuel Labrecque, from McGill, who has 35 points in his 20 games. Welychka is also tied second for assists with 20.
“My linemates, Ryan Van Stralen and Michael McNamee, have done a great job supporting my style of play. They make it easy to play alongside them,” Welychka said.
McNamee said Welychka has played a vital role in contributing to the team’s success so far this season.
“He brings a lot of skill and speed to our offence,” McNamee said. “He’s going to be an elite player in the league during his time here.”
Both Welychka and McNamee said they know the importance of creating good chemistry with linemates in order to be successful, and both of them—along with line Van Stralen—were able to make this connection early on by complementing each others style of play.
“Brett [Welychka], Ryan [Van Stralen], and I have been able to find good chemistry and run with it,” McNamee said. “It has been fun and speaking for all of us we just hope we can continue it and the big picture is helping the team move forward and get better.”
On top of being an offensive threat, Welychka has been one of the most disciplined players on the ice, only having served eight penalty minutes this season. Though his discipline has not stopped him from being a two-way forward, playing aggressive defence.
“I always take pride in my defence,” Welychka said. “I also try to use my skill set to help the team offensively and I feel I did a good job with that in the first half.”
At the beginning of the season, Welychka said a goal of his was to get at least a point-per-game average. There are 28 games in a regular season, and just halfway through the season, he has already achieved this goal with 32 points.
“I think setting goals in anything is important, but once you feel satisfied with more work to do, then you can get in trouble,” Welychka said. “With a tough second half schedule and teams pushing for playoff spots, my main goal is for the team to succeed and ultimately win. Personally I want to just keep rolling with how I have been playing.”
