Walker thriving in fresh start with Cougars

Jenna Walker realized it was time to make a change.

The product of Courtenay, B.C., knew she wanted to continue playing hockey but decided she wanted to do it someplace else with a change of scenery. Little did she know that would mean trading coastal mildness for the deep blistering freeze of Manitoba.

“It was a bit of a culture shock with the bit of a dryer cold in the minus 30s, that’s for sure, but I think it was just a perfect fit, honestly,” said Walker, a member of the Assiniboine College Cougars women’s hockey team. “It just feels right to be here.”

Assiniboine College recruited Walker in April when she was mulling over a few different offers on the table from teams in Calgary, Ontario, and, of course, Brandon. And when it was all said and done, the opportunity to win a championship with the perennial contending Cougars was too much to pass up on for Walker.

“After talking to (head coach) Charles (Tweed) and the former coach last year (David Kirkup), they were genuinely interested in winning a championship, and that’s the kind of team I wanted to be at,” Walker said. “I want to help the team and the organization win another championship and be a part of that, and I also wanted to be somewhere away from my hometown because I wanted to be somewhere where I would have a brand new, fresh start. That’s exactly what I did, and I’m really happy with it.”

Although it’s a new look for Walker, other members of the family are already quite familiar. Her dad grew up in Eriksdale, a community of less than 3,000 people located 273 kilometres northeast of the Wheat City, while her older brother, Logan, played for the Dauphin Kings in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for two seasons from 2022 to 2024 and served as team captain in his second season. He’s spent the last year and a half in the American Collegiate Hockey Association with Maryville University.

Walker admitted those familial ties also swayed her decision.

“My dad was kind of giving me the insights of how big Manitoba is just as a hockey community in general, and Logan said he just loved his time in Dauphin, the community, and the people that supported him and all of his buddies that he met, so it definitely changed my mindset on coming here and having a different perspective,” she said.

Last summer, Walker and her family made a road trip out of her move, driving out to Banff and checking out a few other spots before coming into the city and spending her 18th birthday here. Then, it was time to meet the team — and it’s safe to say she and her peers hit it off from the get-go.

“Coming from the other side of the country, it’s obviously pretty hard kind of getting to know a bunch of new girls, but I felt right as I got to the rink, I felt instantly included with everybody, and it felt like a family,” said Walker. “I instantly felt connected and welcome with everybody, and we just all love to be around each other, and it’s just even better on the ice.

“We all have that connection in chemistry, where we all know where each other are and trust each other with the puck, which I definitely think makes it a lot easier to win those types of games and play hockey with each other.”

And if there’s one thing this Cougars club has done a lot of, it’s winning.

After sweeping a back-to-back set on the road last weekend in North Dakota against the Jamestown Jimmies, Assiniboine College has now brought its win streak up to nine straight and its total record to 13-2. Under first-year head coach and alumnus Tweed, the Cougars have been able to fly high offensively while also sticking to a very well-executed defensive structure that has only allowed 12 goals in 15 contests.

It’s an incredible feat that speaks to the level of defensive commitment from each player on the squad, but it’s also a testament to how much time the Cougars have spent in the offensive zone. Walker’s a big reason for that.

At five-foot-seven, she’s a forward who enjoys playing the physical side of the game and is far from shy when it comes to going to the hard areas, whether it be digging for pucks in the corner or battling for net-front position in front of the blue paint, Walker’s prepared to do whatever it takes. That’s shown up on the scoresheet, as she’s chalked up 12 goals and 24 points in 15 games, which led her team in scoring until the recent addition of Veronica Asquith — who has 29 points in 16 games.

Walker started the year playing alongside Madison Haliuk and Kadence Cress but has been playing more with Abby Dixon and Cress as of late. She said they’ve been a big reason she’s had the success she’s had so far.

“Just being able to trust my teammates and believing that they’ll get it back to me, or I’ll give it to them, whether it’s a goal or an assist, and just trusting my skills and my ability that I can put it in the back of the net,” Walker said. “Trusting myself and being confident with the puck and having my teammates to support me and knowing they’ll have my back and I have theirs is huge.”

The trio have clicked so well because of the way they complement each other, with she and Dixon going to work in the corner while Cress serves as the support option when the puck squeezes out of the bunch. From there, the trio establish the cycle with their speed, and once they hem the other team in their zone, each of them has the skill to bury it when they get the opportunity.

With 20 penalty minutes, Walker’s also not afraid to get into some extracurriculars, but that’s one side of her game she’s trying to get more of a handle on.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself, I care a lot and am obviously super competitive, but I’m working on controlling those kinds of emotions and actually recognizing when I get frustrated,” she said.

This weekend AC will look to continue its domination as they begin a home-and-home series against the Dakota College at Bottineau Lady Jacks at the Sportsplex Saturday evening.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com