Campbell reflects on road to top of women’s hockey

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This article was published 25/04/2025 (224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From the Wheat City to the world stage, Kristen Campbell always dreamed of playing hockey at the highest levels, but would have had a hard time predicting where the last few weeks have taken her.

The Brandon product is coming off another performance on the international scene at the International Ice Hockey Federation women’s world championship as a goaltender for Team Canada.

After starting her journey on the unique ice surface at the rink in Forrest just minutes north of Brandon where she joined brother Kyle and his friends to skate or play street hockey as much as they could, she’s back from representing her country and getting set for a massive few weeks of hockey ahead.

She often was thrown between the pipes as the youngest in the group, but now her Toronto Sceptres prepare for the team’s final three regular season games of the Professional Women’s Hockey League calendar before what they hope will be a deep playoff push.

The Sceptres came up short in the Walter Cup final of last year’s PWHL campaign and are hoping to secure top spot in the league standings in the remaining games, but for Campbell it all started with a humble beginning.

“My brother would always put me in the net when we played street hockey, so that’s really where it started,” said Campbell.

“I played for the Forrest Kings, and I always wanted to be a goalie. I would race to the rink to get the one set of pads our program had because I wanted to be in net. At first, the guys didn’t really want a girl in net, but I always knew that I loved the position and I wanted to play it so bad.”

“Somehow at 10 years old I just loved the game so much it was all I wanted to do.”

Campbell dabbled in playing out of the net, as most do when they’re starting the game, but for her, goaltending was always the desire.

“I was always drawn to the position. The equipment, the masks, I loved that part of it, but I always loved the challenge of it too. The pressure, the fact you can make a big difference for your team, specifically be the difference between a win and a loss” said Campbell.

“I looked up to Tyler Plante. He was the Wheat Kings goalie and just the coolest. I went to probably seven or eight of his camps and learned so much from him.”

Plante was one of her first goaltending coaches and her idol, as the current goaltending coach for the Wheat Kings and 2005 Western Hockey League rookie of the year.

Campbell attended Plante’s goalie camps as a kid, further influencing her desire to play the position at the highest levels. That and Bill Brown’s tutelage, one of her first coaches to focus on skill development in spring hockey.

From Forrest to Team Canada seems like a massive jump, but her international debut came at a fairly young age. Campbell first played for Team Canada while living in Winnipeg at the age of 17, while attending the Shaftesbury Titans prep program in Winnipeg.

She made her international debut by starting for Canada at the IIHF U18 world championships in 2015 in Buffalo N.Y., earning a 3-2 win over Russia, earning not only her first international start, but her first international win.

That came after wrapping her youth hockey days with the Westman Wildcats before a stellar university career split between the University of North Dakota and the University of Wisconsin.

From Brandon, to Winnipeg, to Wisconsin, to Toronto and beyond, her hockey career has made many stops along the way, but the 27-year-old hasn’t lost sight of how fortunate she’s been.

“The response has been a little overwhelming. When I go back home it’s grounding, especially with the people that helped get me to where I am today,” said Campbell.

“It’s definitely flown by. The last few years have been dominated by hockey, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. “

The most recent success came once again while representing Canada, as she started between pipes for the national team’s first game of this year’s women’s world championship on April 11 in České Budejovicě, Czechia, earning a 5-0 shutout over Finland, stopping all 24 shots she faced.

“It was really special. I’ve been to championships in that third goalie role, so it was special to make the most of it. I felt so ready for the moment thanks to all the work and preparation but also the past experiences of being in that environment,” said Campbell.

“It was a special moment and one that I won’t forget for sure.”

Campbell followed that up by allowing single goals in Canada’s 7-1 trouncing of host Czechia, before playing all 60 minutes in Canada’s 9-1 win over Japan.

The Krug Crawford winner as the Brandon Sun’s sportsperson of the year in 2019, Campbell’s career has seen a lot big moments, but nothing compares with representing her country against the best in the world.

“At the world championships, you’re standing next to players like Marie-Philip Poulin and these girls that you’ve looked up to your whole life and to play alongside them on the world’s stage is something special. It’s a feeling you can’t really describe,” said Campbell.

This year’s world championship marked her fifth international competition in five years and was just one more milestone in an already impressive career.

Other significant accomplishments and milestones include an Olympic gold medal in 2022, world championship gold in 2024, 2022 and 2021, and playing in front of a sold-out Scotiabank Arena in front of 19,000 fans.

“It’s been a pretty wild ride. I always did have a vision of playing women’s hockey at the highest level. Obviously back then I didn’t know what that would look like with no PWHL, but I knew that it included being on Team Canada and Olympic gold,” said Campbell.

“That was a dream I had since I was 10 years old. It still seems surreal, but I look back to that girl and I know she would be proud, not just where I’ve got to but where the women’s game has gone.”

Her work includes continually growing the game in the off-season. Campbell hosts a goalie camp in Winnipeg in July each year, with this summer’s version already having 50 participants registered.

Giving back is top of mind for Campbell, considering the support she had along the way.

While she’s glad to take time to reflect on where she’s been and where she came from, her vision is firmly on the near future.

Campbell and the Sceptres have three remaining regular season games, starting today with the team’s final road game in Lowell, Mass., against the Boston Fleet at 1 p.m. (CST).

Toronto’s final home game comes against the Ottawa Charge on May 3.

Despite the road ahead, Campbell is very appreciative of the support from home, expressing thanks to coaches like Plante, Brown, and her biggest supporters in brother Kyle, parents Brent and Janet, as well as grandparents Bill Miller and Elaine Campbell.

Campbell is glad to take a brief moment to look back and give thanks, but knowing full well her goaltending journey is far from over.

For now, she’s just enjoying the ride.

» mpackwood@brandonsun.com