Huskies women’s hockey alum Leah Bohlken shows off her school pride while providing colour commentary for HuskieFAN at Father David Bauer Arena on Dec. 3, 2022. (Daniella Ponticelli/HuskieFAN)

By Daniella Ponticelli

'This team has a special place in my heart'

Bohlken in the Booth: Huskies alum playing with PWHPA makes broadcast debut

Dec 21, 2022 | 4:18 PM

Leah Bohlken is levelling up her hockey game on the ice and in the broadcast booth.

The University of Saskatchewan alum is currently a rostered player with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association (PWHPA) Secret Dream Gap Tour.

“The main goal is to provide a sustainable women’s hockey league for women going forward,” said Bohlken, who plays defence.

“They really believe there is money to be made in women’s hockey and not just that, we deserve to play and show the talent that we have.”

Before a serendipitous meeting helped lead to her current hockey opportunity, Bohlken enjoyed a full U Sports career with the Huskies.

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The Moose Jaw product joined the team in 2015-16, earning the program’s rookie of the year award, and played all five years through 2020.

Her tenure overlapped with the final season played at Rutherford Rink and the first played at Merlis Belsher Place. Bohlken even became the first U of S Huskie to score at the new arena.

“I was not expecting that,” she said. “But I was honoured and it was a great night for the Huskies, we ended up winning that game and Jessica Vance got a shutout.”

Leah Bohlken during her time with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey program. (Huskie Athletics)

Bohlken recorded 22 goals – including 10 on the power play and 10 game winners – and 32 assists in 149 games as a Huskie.

She was also part of the Saskatchewan squad that finished fourth at the U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship in London, Ont. in 2018.

Bohlken’s younger sister, Larissa, is currently a second-year defensive player for the Huskies who already has a nationals bronze medal under her belt.

“I love getting here and watching Larissa, especially, but the whole team has a special place in my heart,” said Bohlken, who played alongside current Huskies’ Kara Kondrat, Sophie Lalor, Isabella Pozzi, Kate Ball, Kennedy Brown and Cameron Drever.

Huskies’ alum Leah Bohlken (left) with younger sister and current Huskies player, Larissa, during a hike last summer. (Leah Bohlken/Submitted)

Her final season concluded in the Canada West quarterfinals and therefore went unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

She continued playing recreationally while interning and working in Calgary until a chance meeting at a local gym with Samantha Cogan. The Ottawa hockey player is a member PWHPA and has worn the Maple Leaf twice at the IIHF U18 Women’s Worlds, winning silver in 2015.

“I had no idea who Samantha Cogan was at the time. I go into that training session and she’s like, ‘If you’re not done hockey, you want to come and practice with us?” Bohlken said.

The rest, as they say, is history. Bohlken is back playing competitively, making the 2022-23 roster for the PWHPA Secret Dream Gap Tour.

The travelling showcase features some of the best players in women’s hockey with four region-neutral teams: Team adidas, Team Harvey’s, Team Scotiabank and Bohlken’s Team Sonnet.

“I’m excited and proud to be a part of it,” she said. “To be able to play with and practice with some of the greatest women players on earth … it’s incredible.”

Despite being one of the pros, Bohlken said she still gets starstruck playing alongside hockey heroes like Marie-Philip Poulin, Hilary Knight and Brianne Jenner.

“They’re all awesome. Just great people, great players,” she said.

Outside of hockey, Bohlken is a software developer. However, she recently experienced a career-first with HuskieFAN: providing colour commentary on a live broadcast.

“It was amazing,” Bohlken said. “Honestly, kudos to all of you that do it because it is challenging to come up with things to say and sound good doing it.”

The professional player added one of the biggest surprises about commentary for a radio call is how fast things move.

“Knowing when to make a comment, when not to make a comment – it’s crazy how challenging that is,” she said, noting her playing experience came in clutch.

“I learned a lot from this experience…as a player, I can see plays building and I like that aspect of it.”

Bohlken said afterwards she would “absolutely” get back on the mic in the future.

The second half of the 2022-23 Huskies women’s hockey season resumes Friday, Jan. 6, when Saskatchewan hosts the Trinity Western University Spartans at Merlis Belsher Place.

Puck drop is 7 p.m. All games are broadcast live and archived on the HuskieFAN app and huskiefan.ca