Ice breaker

Growing up in Shoreline, high-level hockey opportunities were few and far between for Kelly Stephens.

But that hasn’t stopped the 2001 Shorewood High School graduate from becoming one of the premier players in the country.

After helping the University of Minnesota claim its first NCAA women’s hockey championship late last month, Stephens took the ice with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

At the NCAA Frozen Four, Stephens, a 5-foot-6 junior left winger, contributed two goals and an assist in Minnesota’s 6-2 championship victory over Harvard. She netted a pair of goals in a 5-1 semifinal win over Dartmouth and was one of five Golden Gofers named to the all-tournament team.

Stephens, 21, is regarded as a women’s hockey pioneer in the Pacific Northwest. She is believed to be the only active Division I player from the entire region.

Other than a modest group of players from California, women’s hockey is essentially non-existent on the entire West Coast. If a girl wants to lace up the skates in the Shoreline area, it’s probably going to be with the boys. Just getting involved with the sport takes some effort.

“It was really random to be honest,” Stephens said of picking up hockey. “No one in my family played. I don’t think my parents had ever watched a hockey game.”

Although Stephens began skating around the age of 8, she started her athletic career in more individual, artistic sports like gymnastics, ballet and swimming. But her competitive nature drew her to hockey.

“I’ve always been a pretty competitive person. I really got along with the kids who played hockey,” Stephens said. “I grew up playing with guys and we had a lot of fun together. I was a tomboy. It was kind of odd for me to be in ballet and gymnastics in the first place.

“I was really competitive in most things that I did and in swimming I was at the point where in practice, all we did was laps and I was kind of bored. I liked the change. The thing I liked about hockey is that there is so much to the sport. There’s skating and shooting and tons of dynamics to the sport.”

Organized hockey presented Stephens with numerous challenges from the beginning, mostly trying to keep up with the physical play of the guys.

“You grow up in an atmosphere where you are always proving yourself. You’re always trying to fit in and be a part of the team and be considered one of the guys,” Stephens said. “I was always known as the workhorse because I would just work my butt off. My first two years in hockey I didn’t even play. I basically was just a practice player.”

But Stephens wasn’t about to show weakness or even the slightest sign of intimidation. Any glimpse might prove to the boys that she didn’t deserve inclusion.

“Hockey is obviously a physical sport and I was tested every single day. Growing up in guys hockey, if I ever got hurt, it was always a knock on me,” Stehpens said. “They would say, ‘Oh, see, she can’t play. She shouldn’t be out here.’ So mentality-wise, growing up, it was always, ‘I’m not going to get hurt, I’m not going to fall.’ Those are things that have stuck with me. “

She also held on to the physical style of play she inherited grooming her game in boys leagues, which stirred up a bit of controversey when she arrived at Minnesota.

Struggling to adjust to the no-checking rule upheld by collegiate women’s hockey, Stephens led the Golden Gophers in penalty minutes each of her first two seasons. Her rugged tactics prompted some fans to label her a dirty player on messages boards.

Stephens disagrees with her critics and feels she’s toned down her game, so much so that when she returns home and plays pickup games with her childhood friends, they tell her she’s too easygoing.

“I don’t feel I’m that aggressive at all. Compared to the people I’m around, I stand out,” said Stephens, who played for a select program in Calgary before joining the Vancouver Griffins of the National Women’s Hockey League prior to her senior year at Shorewood.

“But in guys hockey, I go home in the summertime and the guys make fun of me, saying, ‘You’re such a softy now, Kell.’”

Though she’s injected more finesse into her game, Stephens hasn’t lost the keen instincts she honed in the junior ranks.

“I guess it’s a kind of skill. I grew up being very aware of going to the boards, catching a pass and being aware of who’s going to hit me,” Stephens said. “Being somewhat of a smaller player out there, I think it helps being sturdy on my feet. It helps me in the corners and having puck possession and things like that. It’s a skill I’d definitely rather have than not.”

Looking ahead, Stephens hopes to continue playing with Team USA in the offseason. Over the next two years, there are several world tournaments and training camps that could put Stephens in a position for the U.S. Olympic team in 2006.

“It’s something to strive for. Obviously, I’d be honored. I’m going to try and see how it goes,” she said. “It would be an awesome experience, but it’s not a do-all, end-all situation. I’m not (such) a hockey freak that my entire life revolves around the rink … (but) if I get the opportunity, I will be pumped. It will be the time of my life.”

Jeff Keiser is the director of publications at the University of Minnesota. Enterprise writer Charlie Laughtland contributed to this story.