Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Accustomed to spending hours and hours on a rink, MacEwan's latest women's hockey recruit can also play just about anywhere in the lineup.
Ella Maternick starred in two leagues in Manitoba last season as she played U18AAA for the Winnipeg Ice, while simultaneously playing high school hockey for Glenlawn Collegiate.
It takes a strong fitness level to do that and that's one thing Griffins head coach Chris Leeming has noticed about the forward already.
"When I got a chance to watch her play, she just gets to the dirty areas, she drives to the net off rushes," he said. "She's a good net-front presence, she's strong, she has a great commitment to fitness. We got some baseline measurements for fitness testing (last month) and she had some pretty good numbers, so I'm excited for that."
Maternick finished fifth in the Manitoba U18AAA scoring race with 16 goals and 34 points in 28 games – third-best on her Ice team, which captured the league championship.
"She played up and down the lineup, in talking with her coach," said Leeming. "She played with their top players and she played a third-fourth line role and she still found a way to contribute.
"Ella is a well-rounded athlete, who is difficult to play against due to her combination of tenacity and offensive touch around the net."
Exactly what the Griffins need as they aim to create more offence in a push for a Canada West playoff spot in 2023-24.
Maternick also double-dipped with Manitoba's Div. 1 high school hockey league, finished second in scoring on her Glenlawn team with 13 goals and 16 points in 15 games. When the team was in Div. 3 in 2021-22, she led the league in scoring with 33 goals and 48 points in 17 games, winning MVP honours.
"The one thing that really impressed me is her work ethic and commitment to growth over the last few years," said Leeming. "In talking with her coach, her trajectory has been on an upwards swing. There's been a lot of growth every year.
"What really impressed me is her ability to play throughout the lineup and just take the role that was given to her. She had a lot of fun and found some success."
