Support The Daily Orange this holiday season! The money raised between now and the end of the year will go directly toward aiding our students. Donate today.

Rylee McLeod took a deep breath and looked down at her phone. The device vibrated with a call from a 780 area code. For McLeod, an aspiring college hockey player, she knew 780 meant Alberta’s northern and central regions, where some of the country’s premier hockey programs originate.

Once McLeod answered, Brett Wold, head coach for the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs U18 squad, greeted her. Wold expressed excitement about the possibility of coaching McLeod.

There was only one problem. McLeod lived in Grande Prairie, Alberta, around six hours away from Red Deer. She’d be forced to leave her family, friends and high school just months after beginning ninth grade.

With her childhood goal in the back of her mind, though, McLeod decided the opportunity was too significant to pass up.

Shortly after connecting with Wold, along with meeting Chiefs players via phone and video calls, McLeod headed to Red Deer. While there, she toured the rink, met her prospective teammates and participated in two practices. Little did she know a short trip would prepare her for a completely different high school experience than she expected. But it’s helped McLeod in her freshman season at Syracuse, where she’s recorded three goals and one assist through 19 games.

McLeod grew up in a hockey family, inspired by her father and grandfather, who both played the sport. When she was young, her father’s goal was for all three of his daughters to play hockey.

At age 6, McLeod traveled about an hour from Grande Prairie to Grovedale with her siblings, Kasey and Camryn. Grovedale houses just 138 residents, and many athletes who play there, like McLeod, hailed from other parts of Alberta.

In Grovedale, McLeod began playing with the boys’ team, which provided a higher level of competition.

Rylee McLeod has registered four points 19 games into her freshman season. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor

After advancing her mechanics, McLeod returned to Grande Prairie, where she played for three years, once again playing with the boys’ team. Though it wasn’t a competitive team, it allowed her to further develop her skills.

When ice hockey began to allow hitting when McLeod was 15, she was forced to switch to the girls’ bracket. For two years, she competed with the U15 Peace Country Storm, giving her a chance to connect with women’s players.

“I figured I’d play with the boys’ team just to be at a higher level, more physical, which I think really added to my game now,” McLeod said. “Switching to girls wasn’t too difficult. I got closer with teammates, obviously, girls who know more about the girls’ hockey lifestyle.”

After creating lifelong friendships in Grande Prairie, McLeod received the call from Wold. McLeod’s decision to head to Red Deer turned her life upside down.

“My mom, dad and I went back and forth for hours, trying to (weigh) the pros and cons,” McLeod said. “Having my teammates and a really good billet family (to stay with) made the whole transition a lot easier.”

Wold had initially started scouting McLeod for two years before making the first phone call. When McLeod joined the Chiefs, she was just 15, competing against athletes primarily two or three years older.

Yet, Wold understood McLeod’s abilities and used her almost immediately.

“We knew we needed to make a big splash, and we went after a couple of top players in the province. Rylee was one of those players,” Wold said. “We ended up just hitting it off and got her down here, and it completely changed the culture of our program.”

During her time in Red Deer, McLeod realized the amount of work she’d have to devote to hockey to reach her goals, seeing the attention her teammates received from college programs.

In McLeod’s first season with the Chiefs, she delivered a prominent impact. McLeod appeared in 29 of Red Deer’s 30 games, tallying nine goals along with four assists. She was also named the Alberta Female Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year.

McLeod’s career only grew from there. The following season, she scored a team-high 16 goals to go with nine assists. With a slightly new squad from the year prior, McLeod gave the younger players the same confidence she possessed her first year.

“She was super welcoming to the younger girls, never really treated you like you were less,” Presley Zinger, McLeod’s teammate, said. “I always looked up to her as a great hockey player and person.”

McLeod capped off her final year with the Chiefs in impressive fashion despite playing in a team-low 21 games. She still found the net nine times and assisted an additional eight goals. McLeod also directed the Chiefs to the No. 1 rank in the province for all 31 weeks of the season, finishing as provincial champions.

“She molded into a Power Four (player). She was a top player in our league,” Wold said. “She again just excelled and was great for us. Not only on the ice but off the ice as well, she bought into our culture.”

At the end of McLeod’s Red Deer career, she still wanted to play at a high level before college. That’s when Wold connected with McLeod about a new opportunity. This time, it was to represent Alberta in the Canada Winter Games.

In her summer going into eleventh grade, McLeod attended a camp with the top 68 kids in the province. She made the cut when it narrowed down to 28. She then played a couple of games in the next stage and proved she could play at the next level.

When the team was announced, McLeod was a no-brainer to make the squad, Wold said. Similar to Red Deer, she was one of the team’s youngest athletes. Still, McLeod showed out, making a significant impact.

McLeod and her teammates traveled to Prince Edward Island for the week-long competition. With her support and technical skills, her team advanced to the National Championship.

McLeod has showcased the skills she developed in Red Deer and with Team Alberta at Syracuse. Through 19 games, the freshman has become a key player in SU’s attack, helping the Orange to second in the Atlantic Hockey America standings.

Yet, she’s not done. Through Wold’s coaching experiences with Red Deer and at the Canada Winter Games, he’s seen firsthand her impact on those around her and expects the same at Syracuse.

“Rylee had that presence that made girls around her better and girls around her work and compete harder as well,” Wold said. “She lived and breathed our culture. She was our culture.”

Published on December 12, 2024 at 1:29 am

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_