(Photo By Josh Schaefer/Huskie Athletics)

By Ben Tompkins

Kaitlin Willoughby

Former Huskie reflects on first PWHL season

Jun 1, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Prince Albert’s Kaitlin Willoughby was part of women’s sports history this year when she played for Toronto during the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season.

Willoughby, a former University of Saskatchewan Huskie, who helped capture the program’s first Canada West Championship back in 2014, still can’t believe she now gets to play hockey as her full-time job.

“This season was everything I hoped it would be and it exceeded all expectations. Being a part of the league was just so special and the support we had all year long was just overwhelming. I’m so excited for the future of our sport,” she told HuskieFAN.

“I don’t think anyone really expected it to be this amazing. All our regular season games had already sold out in Toronto before the season even started, so the energy the fans gave us was just unbelievable. We’ve played in rinks with barely any fans, so to have the rinks packed with people this year was shocking, but it was about time that it happened for women’s hockey.”

It’s now been over six years since Willoughby suited up for the Green and White, but she still remembers it fondly.

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She also knows how valuable her time in Saskatoon truly was, as it fueled her to make it to where she is now.

“I always knew that after university I didn’t want to be done with hockey quite yet. I aspired to continue playing hockey, but I just didn’t know that it was possible to play hockey as my job. Playing with the Huskies and under head coach Steve Kook, he is the one who helped me grow my game for five years to get me to where I am today,” Willoughby added.

“Nothing will ever take away from my experiences as a Huskie. Scoring that game-winning goal in the Canada West Final, winning a bronze medal at Nationals or winning the Canada West Championship twice, were all just amazing milestones and goals of mine that we reached as a team. Those will always be such precious memories for me and I’m so proud of them.”

This year Willoughby got to create new memories and do it alongside the greatest players and ambassadors for the sport. Whether it was playing with Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse, in front of 20,000-plus fans or just playing in the first game, it’s now all a part of history.

“I’d say stepping on the ice for the first game will probably rank as one of my best memories just in terms of what it meant to the whole sport of women’s hockey. I just felt like it was so empowering to be a part of that inaugural game, so that’s something I will also never forget,” she explained.

“All of my teammates, I absolutely love and adore them. I’ve had the privilege of being surrounded by the top Canadian hockey players, and it’s a little bit nerve-wracking playing in front of that many fans, but we know this is what’s been fought for, for so many years, so at the end of the day, we wanted this and we wanted to put on a good show for them.”

Willoughby will now take the offseason to train, as well as keep up with her nursing skills a bit, as she prepares for a second crack at a PWHL Title.

Following a season in which she and her team finished just one win away from the final, the pending free agent is eager to get back out there and hopes a team sees the fire that’s been lit.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8