Kyla Josifovic built confidence on the ice, and it paid off in points. She brings a two-way game, height and strong senior stats to the PWHL draft.
After three years of development and spending more time on the defensive end, forward Kyla Josifovic became an indispensable part of UConn’s offense this season. As she heads into the upcoming PWHL Draft, she’s got senior year stats that make her case.
Originally from Burlington, Ontario, Josifovic saw herself as a “gritty, in the corners type player” when she arrived in Storrs, Conn. Since, she’s trained in speed and and "explosiveness" that wins puck battles. It’s paid off.
“I feel like I have a very solid defensive game and I've never really been that like huge offensive presence,” Josifovic said, “but I knew that that needed to change this year if I wanted to get some recognition.”
To get there, Josifovic had to get through a mental wall first. She found herself in a “negative close-minded” slump her rookie year that was affecting her on the ice and led to a slow NCAA start. That changed with the help of positive self-talk and support from coaches and teammates.
“Hockey is a huge mental game, even more than a physical game,” Josifovic said. “My mental growth and having that positive self-talk [and] being open-minded is something that has really helped me.”
Picking up stats wasn’t on Josifovic's mind game-to-game during a senior season she wanted to enjoy, but the points followed her nonetheless. She notched 16 goals, 24 assists and 31 blocks in her final season.
“I just feel like when people are having fun and playing the game, that's when they play their best, so I was just making sure to stay present, stay where my feet were, and then the points, like they just followed after it,” she said.
At 5-foot-11, Josifovic’s net-front presence, ability to use her height and defensive strength will serve her well in the upcoming draft.
“I'm not the most skilled or fancy highlight-reel person, but having those basic foundations is what I think makes me a well-rounded player,” she said.
She considers herself a “two-way” player due to her defensive game.
“Being a lockdown defensive-minded person is also in my game, I love to PK, block shots and all of that.”
As one of three UConn captains, Josifovic led the team to its second Hockey East Championship this season, two years after its first. Working on the leadership team where everyone was equal encouraged collaboration and compromise, while she led by example for the rest of the locker room.
"When things are negative or getting down, I just like to be that positive face to cheer people up, but also just a recognition that things can always turn around," she said.
Now, Josifovic is back home and training for the upcoming PWHL draft. She’s not alone, UConn teammates and fellow draft prospects Christina Walker, who Josifovic’s known since she was five-years-old, and Tia Chan are within a 20 minute drive and have been training together in Ontario.
“It's nice having the the UConn presence at the gym in the summer to keep pushing me,” Josifovic said.
She’s been focused on mobility, recovery and slowly building strength so she can be prepared for November. It's been a long-time dream of hers to play professional hockey, and now the PWHL's growth makes it even more real.
"I always had the goal of playing at a higher level of hockey after college," she said. "Right when [the PWHL] started, just seeing like the growth of the game... I was really interested in it from the start."