Soon-to-be Hoover grad will play hockey for King’s College
Born and raised in Glendale, Mary Deyell is about to join the women’s ice hockey team at King’s College in Pennsylvania.
The Hoover High senior, who will graduate next week, learned to skate on Burbank’s Pickwick Ice with her father, a Canadian-born Toronto Maple Leafs fan who turned to the Los Angeles Kings when he moved to L.A. in 1980.
Growing up, Deyell often watched men’s and women’s hockey with her father, who grew up playing in Welland, about 15 miles outside of Niagara Falls.
“He didn’t want to push me into the sport,” she said of her father John. “He wanted me to have the love for the sport. Now, we share the love of the sport.”
She began taking skating seriously at 10 years old, and by 13, she was the only female player on an ice hockey team in Simi Valley.
She scored a goal and made an assist during her first game and was hooked.
“I fell in love with the sport, pretty much right when I hit the ice,” she said.
Playing with young men helped shape her into an aggressive player.
“I think it’s because I play with guys I am aggressive as I am right now,” she said. “I can handle the sport well because of that. It pushed me to work harder. Being the only girl out there, I didn’t want to be ‘that girl.’ I just wanted to be part of the team.”
At times, male players were alternately too careful or physical.
“With the guys, it was either they would feel bad hurting me or they would feel bad not hurting me because they wanted to prove their dominance in the game,” she said. “So they would go out of their way sometimes to make hits on me.
“Sometimes, I’d be the most hit on my team. But my team would battle for me. I’d throw hits right back at them. I didn’t let that get in my way.”
She belonged to the Kings’ high school league last year, playing with two other girls on her team, the rest boys.
“That’s where my game picked up the most,” she said.
With hopes to play on a women’s team in college, Deyell joined an all-girls ice hockey club team in Carlsbad for her senior year, driving to San Diego on the weekends to play for the Wildcats.
While playing in a San Jose tournament in January, Deyell was scouted by Jennifer Kindret, the coach of King’s College’s inaugural team.
She plans to sign her letter of intent to play for the NCAA Division III team in Hoover’s quad on Friday.
“I know I’m going to grow and develop there so much by being on the ice five, six times a week,” she said.
A fan of professional players Hilary Knight of the Boston Pride and Drew Doughty of the Kings, Deyell’s bedroom at home is decked out in memorabilia.
Her garage door has sustained puck marks, and even holes, from her hours of shooting on synthetic ice in the driveway.
In August, she’ll pack up and move to Pennsylvania, where her father has already staked out his spot in the arena where she’ll play.
When he and his wife Lisa won’t be there to watch their daughter’s games, they’ll see the live stream.
“We’re so proud of her — not just for this, but she’s just a good kid,” her father said. “We’re thrilled for her. She’s dreamt about something like this, to play in college, probably since 10 or 11 years of age. It’s getting to see your dream come true — I’m really happy for her for that.”
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
