OUTLOOK - Since taking to the ice as a child, Samantha Ridgewell has been advancing steadily through the hockey ranks and now has an invitation to try and make the roster in a new professional league coming to North America.
Samantha began focusing on goaltending since playing with the AAA Saskatoon Stars. Her skills in net garnered the attention of coaches who encouraged her to seek out a higher level of play so she could be ready to compete south of the border. She headed to Notre Dame and during that time committed her college years to the Merrimack College Warriors in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Samantha had a stellar career as a Warrior earning MVP, Top Defensive Player, and Female Athlete of the year honours, to name a few.
She turned her sights to Europe, signing with Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Women’s Hockey League. “It was an incredible experience getting to play in downtown Stockholm,” Samantha shared. “Fresh out of college I was really excited to be playing professional hockey.”
Her next step was heading to the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation, a professional league with teams in Canada and the United States. Although COVID impacted the season, there was time for practice and development. But halfway through her second year with Toronto a call from another Swedish team put her back in the Scandinavian nation where hockey is very big. “I took a risk,” she said, “and went back to Sweden.”
Thinking her career had reached an end after that opportunity, she headed back to Outlook. “I had no contract at the beginning of the year so I was around here coaching volleyball and basketball at LCBI.” That is, until the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation found themselves in need of a goaltender and reached out to Samantha. “I had about a week to prepare and then headed to Buffalo,” she remarked. She went in feeling loose and relaxed, simply grateful for the opportunity to be in net at that level again. “Things went quite well,” she said. “My first game was a shutout.”
With the culmination of the season Samantha returned to Outlook where she is LCBI’s Athletic Development Coordinator. Thinking she was now retired from hockey she prepared to pour her energy into coaching and mentoring, but another opportunity has opened up, much to her delight.
The newly created Professional Women’s Hockey League was formed following the merger of the Professional Hockey Federation and the Professional Women’s Hockey Player’s Association. The new league will have six teams: Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, New York City, Boston, and Minneapolis-St. Paul with the season set to launch in January 2024.
Samantha has been invited to the Ottawa free agency camp that begins November 14 with medical and fitness testing, and then two weeks of practice and scrimmages. “After two weeks they will begin letting some of the invited players go,” Samantha shared. “I’ve never been part of a try out that’s been that long. Usually you get one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon and that’s your try out. So it’s nice that they’re giving everybody a good shot.”
To prepare for the camp Samantha has been working with Craven Sports Physio in Saskatoon. “It’s been really good working with them. They come on the ice with me to see what’s the biggest thing that could change to help get me ready for the next level.”
They’ve been going back to basics and figuring out how to adapt her stance to prepare for the next level of speed she’ll see at the camp. “I spent an hour yesterday just working on a simple movement about two feet in my crease. As a goalie, as you get older and play better players you just have to simplify the game. It’s the minor adjustments that make a difference.”
Samantha is excited to get on the ice in Ottawa and reconnect with other athletes. “Actually I’ve played with lots of them. Some of my good friends got invited to the camp so it will be good to be reunited.”
The camaraderie within the women’s game is something Samantha appreciates. She got a request from Olympic gold medal winner Brianne Jenner to follow her on Instagram after getting her invite to Ottawa. “That was pretty cool,” Samantha said with a smile. “It’s not every day an Olympian would follow someone like me.” Saskatoon’s Emily Clark, who helped lead Team Canada to gold in Beijing, sent Samantha a text saying she was looking forward to seeing her at camp. “There is definitely good camaraderie,” Samantha said. “Players reaching out to say congrats and that they are excited to meet you is pretty cool.”
Samantha is encouraged by the expansion of opportunities in Canada and says the new U22 Outlook Mainline Ice Hawks, part of the recently created Saskatchewan Junior Female Hockey League says a lot about the future of the women’s game. “It’s growing. Rapidly,” she emphasized. At Saturday’s home opener she was part of the ceremonial puck drop in a game that saw Outlook get a win. “I’m glad to see how the community is getting behind it. This is a great opportunity for girls to continue playing hockey.”
She recalls watching some games in Boston featuring players from Team Canada and Team USA wondering what her own future might hold. “When you’re a freshman in college it seems like a long shot so I never really thought about playing in that league until my senior year. I wasn’t ready to give it up so I pursued professional, and it came true.”
As she heads to Ottawa to show what she can do on skates, Samantha’s feet are planted on firm soil. “My goal at this point is just to play as long as I can and if that’s two weeks in the Ottawa training camp then I’m totally honored to get that opportunity. If it’s beyond that I’ll be ecstatic to continue playing in whatever role they need me to play. It’s just so fun getting to compete at this level.”
