Rockies get an upgrade
Posted 2 months ago
Richard Saad Standard Reporter - After being cut from Canada s women s Olympic team in December, Delaney Collins has joined the Strathmore Rockies of the Western Women s Hockey League. The skilled defenceman has three games with the Rockies so far.
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Richard Saad
Standard Reporter
The Strathmore Rockies lineup has been given an added boost after the addition of Delaney Collins, a former Team Canada member and a veteran defenceman of some repute.
A Pilot Sound, Manitoba native, Collins, who was cut from Team Canada's starting roster for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, is excited about the opportunity to bring some added experience to a team she knows quite well, having played with and against some of the players on the team.
Although being cut from Team Canada was a disappointment, Collins said her goal in joining the Rockies was to keep the sport of hockey close to her.
"I wanted to help the team in any way possible because I really enjoy the sport," said Collins, 32.
Because she had joined the Rockies mid-way through their season, Collins understood that it was important for her to contribute to the team without distracting them or upsetting their chemistry.
She credits her time with Women's National Team as instilling a level of professionalism that would help her transition to the team with a minimum of distraction.
"There's a certain amount of open mindedness that I have about joining the team and helping them while at the same time enjoying my time there," said Collins, who was an alternate on Team Canada in 2006, after being cut in 2002.
Collins joined the Rockies after being approached by team president and player Samantha Holmes.
Initially, the plan was to have Collins join the Rockies after the Olympics ended, but after she was released from the team in early December, the opportunity to join the Rockies came sooner than expected.
After some consideration, Collins felt joining the Rockies was an important step in maintaining her passion for the sport—a passion, incidentally, that was first sparked when she was young, playing organized hockey on a boys team.
Collins believes that her level of experience with the national team should translate well onto the Rockies, and she hopes she can provide a level of security and offence to the back end that will help the Rockies put some wins together until the end of the season.
"Any time you have some experience at the national level, there's bound to be things you pick up that you can bring back in order to help," said Collins.
"I will do my best to contribute and to hold my own out there."
Collins has had a long relationship with Hockey Canada. She was first a member of the national team on the gold medal-winning world championship team in 2000.
