Emily Rickwood chose to move to Sweden following her NCAA career to play pro with AIK this season. She's come a long way in her career as she continues to chase her hockey dreams.
Emily Rickwood chose to move to Sweden following her NCAA career to play pro with AIK this season. She's come a long way in her career as she continues to chase her hockey dreams.
Emily Rickwood, a Brantford, Ontario native was too busy with competitive dance to even consider hockey, but after being asked by her parents to take over her brother’s position in a “learn to skate” program, she fell in love and never looked back.
Emily Rickwood, a defender currently playing for AIK in the SDHL, found early on that the team aspect of hockey is the most intriguing.
“I think the first part that drew me to it initially was the team aspect of it,” she said. “I loved being around all my friends, getting to see them probably four or five times a week. It was just nice to have something to do outside of school.”
When it came to motivation to continue playing and improving her skills as she continued her career, it was her dad that was Rickwood’s biggest supporter.
“I think my dad kind of coached me all the way growing up,” she recalled. "He was a big part of that motivation. You know, he never got mad at me for making mistakes, he would just say that if you make mistakes, that's how you’re going to get better.”
Rickwood attended the University of New Hampshire where, over her five seasons playing for the Wildcats, she played in 165 games, scoring 54 points. She was also a two-time OHCA All-American Scholar and finished her last season with the team by amassing 63 blocked shots, ranking her 14th in the nation in that category.
Rickwood chose New Hampshire when she met with the coaches and believed in their coaching philosophy and how it aligned with her own, along with the incredible campus and being able to play on an Olympic-sized ice for most of her time there.
She gives credit to the coaching staff for helping her shift away from being more offensively minded to being able to play a full 200-foot game. But for Rickwood, it was more than just her time on the ice that helped grow as an individual, shape her mindset and develop a new perspective.
“I think having to go through COVID, all that stuff, it just taught me to battle through adversity,” she reflected. “Things don’t always go your way, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I think it’s what made me who I am today.”
Now with the formation of the PWHL, Rickwood sees a real future for women to play professionally in hockey and, despite being in Europe, she can see the fan enthusiasm for the players.
“I think it’s incredible! The amount of fans they’re getting and it’s doing so much for women’s hockey,” she said. “Seeing the videos of the little girls there with signs about having something for them to look forward to, it’s just incredible.”
This new league has given Rickwood a new outlook on her hockey career, one that she didn’t think she’d have when she was going through university.
“I just remember my freshman year of college,” she said, “I was talking to my dad and said ‘This could be my last five years of hockey’ because unless you make the national team, there was really nowhere to play.”
Playing in the PWHL one day would be a dream for Rickwood, as it would allow her to play closer to friends and family, especially her grandparents who haven’t been able to see her play since she was 16, all while being paid to play the sport she’s loved since she first laced up her skates all those years ago.
By luck or by fate, the game of hockey has taken Emily Rickwood from her home in Brantford, Ontario all the way to Sweden, and it’s all of these incredible experiences she’s had and what she’s learned about herself along the way that has helped to shape her into the individual she is off the ice and the hockey player she is on it.