USA Women's Hockey

When Stephanie Anderson was told she had been selected for the U.S. team for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship in Sweden, she was stunned.

“I had no idea,” she said, laughing. “I had no clue.”

The forward from Bemidji State University — who just completed a strong junior season — believed she had performed well in the national team’s winter camp in late December, but had no expectation she might be selected to the senior national team for the first time.

But coach Ken Klee and Reagan Carey — USA Hockey’s director of the women’s program — and others liked what they saw of Anderson.

“She came in and played really hard, really well, and with the attitude that she wanted to prove something, and she definitely did,” said Matt Kelly, head scout for the women’s national team.

Kelly describes the 5-foot-9 Anderson as a “big, strong, powerful forward” who is also a terrific skater with a good shot. He said her combination of skills made her attractive for the World Championships that begin March 28.

“She definitely battled and competed really hard,” he said.

Carey, too, said the national team was on the lookout for new talent to inject into the program after the 2014 Winter Games.

“It was critical for us to cast a wide net in August of 2014 and take a fresh perspective of our player pool as we set our sights on 2018,” she said. She cited Anderson and Zoe Hickel, a senior forward from the University of Minnesota Duluth, as two players who emerged.

“They are both talented players who benefited from those scouting efforts and their own hard work,” she said.

For Anderson, the chance to show what she could do in December camp was exactly the opportunity she needed.

Back in 2010, when Anderson was still in high school, she made the U.S. team for the IIHF Under-18 World Championships. But her tournament ended after just one game. She felt ill during the opener. That night, she had to be rushed to the hospital, where it was determined she had pneumonia. The next day, she was flown back to her home in North St. Paul, Minn., and had to watch the rest of the championships on her computer.

It not only was a huge disappointment not to be able to play — the U.S. eventually won the silver medal — but she felt as if her career was knocked off track for the national team for a few years.

But at the beginning of this past season, Anderson said her coach at Bemidji State, Jim Scanlan, told her he’d been in contact with USA Hockey about her.

When she was invited to the winter camp, Anderson was determined to make the most of her chance and show she could play with a talented group that includes so many members of Olympic and World Championship teams.

“That was my mindset,” she said. “I had a clean slate.”

Anderson came out of the camp energized and with greater confidence.

She’d had a slow start to the college season, but after the camp she played better for Bemidji State. She scored nine of her 14 goals after winter camp and finished second on the team with 24 points. Over 39 games she also had the team’s second-best plus/minus rating (plus-8), three game-winning goals and 51 blocked shots.

“I think my speed — not my speed on the ice, but from the quickness in my head to make decisions on the ice — definitely improved,” she said. “Being at camp with those great players, you have to be ready and on your toes to make decisions, and I think that’s where I succeeded and got a lot better at.”

Her 24 points were a jump over her sophomore season, when she had eight.

That was her first season at Bemidji State after transferring from the University of Minnesota. She played one season for the Gophers, winning an NCAA championship, but her time at the school lasted just one season.

Her sister passed away during the school year and it had a huge impact on Stephanie.

“I kind of went downhill,” she said.

She missed classes, didn’t get as much playing time as she’d hoped on a veteran team — and, after meeting with coach Brad Frost, came to a decision that it would be best to move on.

Bemidji State wound up being a great place and a change of scenery.

“When my sister passed, I just kind of needed to get out and go somewhere new,” she said.

She says Minnesota is an excellent program and Frost is a great coach, “But I’m happy I switched. It was good for me in the long run. I think I got more playing time and more experience that way.”

 Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.