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FALMOUTH, N.S. —

A Falmouth teen is being recognized as one of the top goalies in Canada.

Deanna Fraser, a 17-year-old goalie for King’s-Edgehill School, was recently invited by Hockey Canada to participate in the excellence goaltending camp held in Calgary earlier this June.

Jeff MacLeod, King's-Edgehill’s director of hockey and coach of the female team, says he was not surprised by this invitation.

“Fraser is one of the best goaltenders for her age, and she has done well in our prep league and also with Team Nova Scotia at the Canada Games,” he says.

Fraser started playing hockey in Grade 3, following in the footsteps of her older sister, who she wanted to emulate.

“I’ve always been competitive, and although I wasn’t focused on the thought of playing for Team Canada in my very first years of the sport, my aspirations for my future in the sport became clear through watching hockey on the television at home,” says Fraser.

She quickly became envious of the girls on the screen and admired their talent and hard work, hoping that someday, she could be like them.

Deanna Fraser, a 17-year-old Falmouth student attending King’s-Edgehill School, was invited by Hockey Canada to attend a goaltending hockey camp in Calgary earlier in June. - Contributed photos

On the ice

Fraser’s hockey path led her to become a member of the King's-Edgehill female prep hockey team, part of the North American Prep Hockey Association league. Earlier this year, she traveled to Alberta as part of the 2019 Canada Winter Games as a member of Team Nova Scotia.

Fraser calls her Canada Games experience one of the best weeks of her life.

“The girls on my team were all amazing individuals and I’m so grateful to share the experience with them,” she says.

Her favourite memories at the Games were watching the other sports, specifically the figure skating, saying it was beautiful and powerful to watch. She was also a big fan of pin trading.

Top of her game

The next natural step for Fraser was participation in the Hockey Canada goaltending camp. When she got the news she was invited to attend, Fraser was ecstatic, saying it was a wonderful feeling that her years of hard work were recognized.

Fraser is aware, however, that this camp was just the beginning, and that there is plenty more hard work to be done.

It's worth it, she says.

Being recognized as one of the top goalies in Canada gives her more confidence and enables her to work with more elite coaches and players, says MacLeod.

She now has an opportunity to play for Team Canada and move up the ladder with the senior team. Being a part of the process allows her to have support with off-ice training, nutrition, mental training and much more within Hockey Canada, explains MacLeod.

In the short term, Fraser will continue her studies at King's-Edgehill, where she will enter Grade 12 this fall. MacLeod says she will continue to work with staff members and a goalie coach, Joe Johnston, who is also a member of the Hockey Canada staff.

“He can continue to work with Deanna during our season and help with her development,” says MacLeod.

After graduation, Fraser is heading to Cornell University in New York state to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 women’s hockey league.

Deanna Fraser is a student athlete who will be entering Grade 12 at King’s-Edgehill School in the fall.

'Be a sponge'

For those who would like to become a hockey goalie, Fraser says her best advice is to "be a sponge." Listen and take in all of the different coaches’ and players’ teaching points and goaltending knowledge. Try it out see what works for you, and if it doesn’t, at least you will know, she says.

The idea of a female hockey goalie is no longer a surprise to most people, says Fraser, who has had primarily positive reactions when she says she is a female goalie.

“I get a lot of ‘oh wow, good for you!’ But I would say that people are more shocked when I tell them that I am also a ballerina,” says Fraser.

She suggests aspiring hockey players should be open to new techniques, be adaptable and be passionate about the position and the sport.

The hard work isn’t as hard when it’s for something you love, she says.