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My ice hockey dream is taking me 3,000 miles from home

Mike McBrideBBC News NI
News imageBBC Molly has long brown curly hair and is holding her ice hockey stick. She is standing outside and is wearing a navy T-shirt. BBC
16-year old Molly is relishing the opportunity to attend a boarding school in Canada which combines studying with elite level ice hockey training

If you are chasing the dream of a professional ice hockey career, there is perhaps no better place than the country where the sport is a national obsession.

That is the opportunity being grasped by a 16-year-old girl from Northern Ireland who is preparing to make her dream move across the Atlantic after being accepted into one of Canada's elite school ice hockey programmes.

Molly is set to study at a boarding school for student athletes on Prince Edward Island, where she will combine school studies with elite-level ice hockey training.

Molly said she was overjoyed to be given the opportunity to pursue her dream

The opportunity comes after years of dedication to the sport, with Molly making twice-weekly, three-hour round trips from her hometown of Strabane to Belfast, as well as regular ferry crossings from Northern Ireland to Scotland to compete in the sport she loves.

News imageAlan Blakeley Molly is seen playing ice hockey avoiding a player as she controls the puck. She is wearing a white jersey and black trousers with red and black striped socks, her opponent is in blue and white.Alan Blakeley
Molly has represented Ireland at junior level and regularly travelled to Scotland in order to play womens ice hockey

Molly said her love of ice hockey began when her parents took her to watch a Belfast Giants ice hockey game when she was about 10.

"I knew straight away that I wanted to try it," she told BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show.

"I played some field hockey, but never ice hockey. It's just so fast and so different from any other sport I'd ever seen before."

News imageGetty Images A Belfast Giants goaltender in full uniform is in nets. The jersey is teal and the trousers black. The goaltender is holding a large white ice hockey stick in his right hand and trying to catch the puck in a gloved left hand.Getty Images
Molly's first experience of ice hockey was watching the Belfast Giants, who play in the UK Elite Ice Hockey League

Molly said ice hockey was a fantastic sport, but growing up in County Tyrone meant opportunities to play were limited.

The only permanent, year-round public ice rink on the island of Ireland is Dundonald International Ice Bowl on the outskirts of east Belfast.

'I played in mostly boys' teams growing up'

For the past four years, Molly made the journey from Strabane to Belfast twice a week to train with the Junior Belfast Giants, a youth development team.

She has also represented Ireland with the Irish Saints, the official National Youth Development Ice Hockey Team operated by the Irish Ice Hockey Association (IIHA), which has led her to compete in tournaments in both the United States and Canada.

She said that due to a shortage of young female players most of the teams she represented at youth level were predominantly made up of boys.

"Playing with the boys in the Belfast Giants junior team and national level was really great at junior level, but I really wanted to get more experience in the women's game, and travelling to Scotland was my only way to experience that," she said.

Over the past two seasons, Molly has played for the Caledonia Steel Queens in Edinburgh, an all-female Scottish side that competes in the Women's National Ice Hockey League.

All of those experiences at both junior and now more senior level, she says, have fuelled her desire to become a full-time professional.

News imageDerek McGilligan has short grey hair and is wearing a white polo shirt. He is standing in front of a large green bush outside.
Proud father Derek McGilligan says Molly is incredibly dedicated to the sport and has put in a lot of work to get an opportunity in Canada

Molly's father, Derek McGilligan, admitted it took some time to become accustomed to seeing his daughter compete in such a physical sport when she made the switch to the Scottish league.

"The first couple of games I went to after Molly made the step up, some of the players she was playing against in the women's league were in their 40s," he said.

"You would get concerned the odd time, but Molly works so much on her strength that she holds her own on the ice against most people.

"She can handle herself."

Derek said their family is so proud of everything Molly has achieved so far in such a short space of time and could not wait to see her develop her skills even further in Canada.

News imageAlan Blakeley Caledonia Steel Queens head coach Richard 'Rambo' Gray presenting Molly, who is wearing a black and white hockey uniform and helmet with a medal for player of the match. Rambo is wearing a grey long-sleeved quarter zip top and a black and red bobble hat.Alan Blakeley
Caledonia Steel Queens head coach Richard 'Rambo' Gray says Molly will be a big loss to their team but is delighted she will be heading off to Canada

Richard 'Rambo' Gray, head coach and founder of the Caledonia Steel Queens, told BBC News NI that Molly was an exceptionally talented young ice hockey player, with a rare level of hockey intelligence and versatility for her age.

Despite primarily playing as a winger, he said Molly had also been trusted in a number of positions within the team and had a unique ability to adapt on the ice.

He said he had been fortunate to coach many talented young female players from across the UK, some of whom travel from Northern Ireland to Scotland to play regular top-level league fixtures.

Gray said Molly's move to Canada was a fantastic opportunity, with the potential for scholarships at universities and a pathway towards higher-level hockey.