The Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Vancouver Goldeneyes make history this month, but 70 kilometres away Abbotsford recently had a significant women’s hockey moment of its own.
While the Goldeneyes debut at the Pacific Coliseum on Friday (Nov. 21), Georgia Vallee will be wearing the “C” as captain for the Abbotsford Minor Hockey Association’s U15 A1 team when they compete at a tournament in Kelowna.
She is the first-ever female to serve as captain for an AMHA boys rep team.
Head coach Jon Djekic said it was an easy pick.
“I noticed her in the tryouts because I was part of the evaluation team,” he said. “She’s a really good skater, makes smart plays and makes a great first pass. So there was no doubt she was going to be on the team. But once you get to know her, she lives up to all the things you want in a captain – she’s a hard worker, leads by example and is respected by her teammates.”
Djekic explained that this year marks his first year coaching at the U15 level after several years of coaching U18s, so he entered the job with no biases and some passing knowledge of the players in U15. He said Vallee impressed her in so many ways and everyone agreed she would be the perfect captain for the team.
“She has a good relationship with myself and the other coaches and everything you want in a captain,” he said. “Quite frankly, it didn’t really matter what gender she is – it was really irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.”
Djekic said Vallee leads by example and is an excellent communicator with both teammates and coaches. He also said feedback from players on the team and parents to the decision has been positive.
The 14-year-old Grade 9 Robert Bateman Secondary School student said she was both surprised and a little bit nervous to be named captain, but said she is settling into the role. She thinks she will be capable of stepping into that leadership role with the team.
“I hope to bring a positive energy and attitude as captain,” she said. “I want to support my teammates and be a leader out there for them.”
Vallee classified herself as a defensive-minded defender and enjoys watching other rearguards like Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and Colorado’s Cale Makar. She said hockey has been a staple in her life from a very young age and also played local girls hockey when she was younger.
She said playing against boys does have benefits for her overall game, but she also appreciates the women’s game.
“It’s funner to hit guys,” she said, chuckling. “And the boys like to chirp and talk more out there. I do find that girls sometimes work as a team better than guys. There’s not as many of them trying to do it all themselves.”
The other benefit for Vallee is playing on a boys team means more ice time locally. There is often more travel involved with girls teams, as they often represent several communities to a smaller amount of players. Djekic said Vallee can easily handle the physical aspects of the boys game and her hockey IQ should help her avoid vulnerable situations.
Vallee said she hopes to crack the Fraser Valley Rush girls roster when she gets older and also wants to pursue hockey at the post-secondary level.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Georgia is going to play high-level hockey,” Djekic said. “I think this story is good for the AMHA, for Georgia herself and for women’s hockey. Naming her captain was about who she is as a person, her character and her ability to lead by example. It made the decision really easy.”
For more on the AMHA, visit abbotsfordminorhockey.ca.