Before making their way onto the Ravens women’s hockey team, Bethan and Megan Wilson grew up near the mountains of Calgary, learning to play hockey after watching their older brother Connor lace up his skates.
Bethan is currently playing third-year defence with the team, while Megan is a first-year forward.
Bethan and Megan both attended Edge School, a private school located in the Rocky View County west of Calgary. While at the Edge School, they played for the hockey team as part of the Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL) and the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL).
“That was where I got to play with Bethan for the first time because we’re two years apart,” Megan said. “So, every year of hockey, it’s always been she moves on and I move up. But [for] Midget, having the three years, that’s when I actually got to play with her and we’ve met lifelong friends that we still keep in touch with.”
While playing hockey has been fun, it has also come with a few challenges down the road which have helped their relationship grow stronger.
“It was 10th grade and I ended up getting a really bad concussion playing hockey, and it was my first one, and I think it’s a really tough obstacle for anyone to overcome, especially everything that comes along with it,” Bethan said.
“So, for me to be able to get through that and everything that came with it, like all the symptoms, the missing school, that kind of stuff. It kind of just makes you realize how much you actually love the game and how much sitting out makes you miss it even more,” she added.
After graduating from Edge School, Bethan went to Carleton University while Megan transferred to the Okanagan Hockey Academy in British Columbia.
From her time at the Okanagan Hockey Academy, Megan completed her Grade 12 year while also racking up four goals and four assists in 19 games played.
“It was really nice to get a good change because I’d been at Edge for three years, and I just kind of felt like I was a little stuck there,” Megan said. “It was still a lot like the Edge because it was a sports school and it was in the same league as Edge, but it was just really nice to see a new coaching staff and new faces on the team where I could just start again almost.”
After finishing her year at the Okanagan Hockey Academy, Megan made the decision to also come to Carleton–joining forces with her sister to play on the women’s hockey team.
“I was really excited . . . I mean, we’re so close and we get to be reunited and we get to hang out all the time again, and I can’t see anything wrong with that.” Bethan said.
Since coming to Carleton, Megan has scored one goal and earned two assists in nine games played, while Bethan has recorded five assists in 47 games played as a Raven.
Many of their teammates have also noticed how similar Bethan and Megan are both on and off the ice.
“Megan and Bethan are very similar people. It’s like they are the same person, so they feed off each other,” said teammate Leah Scott. “They’re really funny together, and Megan being here, I think, just brings out the best in Bethan—and same for Megan.”
“So, Bethan being there, Megan—right away—was part of the team, and, even in her first year, she’s playing amazing,” Scott added, “and having her sister there makes her more comfortable and confident in her abilities, so it’s nice to see that she has that support no matter what.”
Megan’s teammates said she has been a great fit in the locker room.
“She’s a pretty funny kid, actually, she’s quite talkative and she’s open with everyone so it’s been nice,” teammate Rachel Knee said.
When asked about she hope they will be able to accomplish in the future, Megan voiced a similar idea to that of her sister.
“Well, I think women’s hockey can only take you so far, but I absolutely love playing it so I want to play it for four or five years here, for sure, and just let myself take it as far as I can,” Megan said. “But I would rather focus on education after an undergrad degree, so we’ll see after these years here.”
Photo by Kassia Skorzewska
