Kate Reilly thought she was closing the door on hockey to focus on medical school. Instead, a series of moments pulled the Ottawa Charge defender back to the game she missed.
When Kate Reilly stepped away from hockey to begin medical school, she did not expect that a series of small moments would pull her back toward the game. Looking back now, the Ottawa Charge defender sums up that stretch with a single word: serendipity.
After five years at Quinnipiac University, where she served as co-captain and led all NCAA defenders in scoring in 2024, Reilly chose to pursue medical school at the University of British Columbia. Education had always been a priority, even as her hockey career continued to climb.
Time away from hockey proved harder than Reilly expected. Sitting in the stands at a PWHL Takeover Tour game in Vancouver helped her to realize just how much she missed it.
“At night, I’d see photos, and I’d be like ‘Oh my gosh. I miss this,” she said. “I went to the Vancouver Takeover Tour game, and I watched my friends play, and it was just like eating inside me.”
While she was contemplating a return to hockey and a possible attempt at the PWHL, Reilly attended a medical conference at a Vancouver hotel. One of the guest speakers delivered a talk centred on the idea of serendipity and how events can fall into place when preparation meets opportunity.
“[The guest speaker] gave a speech about serendipity, about how things fall into place,” said Reilly. “About how you’re there, you’re trying for it, and everything comes together. And I remember it really resonated with me, and I wrote it down.”
That hotel, Reilly would go on to share, was the same one she and her fellow Ottawa Charge teammates had stayed at earlier this year, reaffirming her decision to return to the game.
Reilly has since become a steady presence on the Charge blue line, appearing in 11 games and logging minutes alongside both Brooke Hobson and newly acquired Emma Greco.
For Kate Reilly, the route back to hockey has not been as straightforward as others in the game. She now views it through the single word she wrote down in that Vancouver hotel room: serendipity.
“This was meant to be, and it almost brought tears to my eyes.”