Captain captures Swift Current’s career
assists record
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| Taylor Lind is the Wildcats all-time leading scorer. |
Way back on Oct. 1,
2016, Lind, who stands 5-foot-7, made her Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey
League regular season debut as an underage 14-year-old player with the
Wildcats, who ultimately fell in that contest 2-1 after a tiebreaking shootout
to the Prairie Fire in Melville. Lind didn’t have the affect she wanted to in
that initial game.
“I remember my first
game I actually went scoreless,” said Lind. “I was like, “Oh man like this is
going to be a long season.”
“My buddy Chloe
(Smith) she was the captain that year. She was on my line. She was like, “Hey,
don’t worry.”
“The next day I
remember we came back, and I think as a line we had like five points or
something. She was like, “See, they are going to come.””
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| Taylor Lind is the Wildcats career assists leader. |
On Friday night at
Merlis Belsher Place, Lind picked up an assist on the Wildcats second goal in
their 6-3 setback to the defending SFMAAAHL champion Saskatoon Stars. With that
helper, the 16-year-old centre moved past Smith as the Wildcats all-time leader
in career regular season assists at 63.
Lind, who is in her
third SFMAAAHL season, now holds all of the Wildcats career regular season scoring
records piling up 73 goals to go along with her 63 assists for 136 points in 70
games. The Shaunavon, Sask., product currently sits fifth on the SFMAAAHL’s
all-time career points list.
Smith had been the
Wildcats all-time leader in career regular season points piling up 42 goals and
62 assists for 104 points in 110 games played from 2013 to 2017. Currently,
Smith is playing in her sophomore season with the University of Saskatchewan
Huskies women’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks.
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| Taylor Lind is the Wildcats leader in career goals. |
“I guess it is
pretty exciting leaving that big of a mark on the Wildcats,” said Lind, who is
the Wildcats captain this season. “It is a great organization, and it has made
me the player I am.
“I have a lot of
people here to thank. I mean, yeah, it is a huge accomplishment.”
Wildcats head coach
Terry Pavely said Lind’s impact on the Swift Current side goes beyond offensive
statistics. The veteran bench boss said his star captain is one of the team’s
hardest working players and has a good all-around game.
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| Wildcats C Taylor Lind (#13) battles Stars C Grace Shirley for a draw. |
“Obviously, her
offensive skill is what everybody knows. People don’t realize how good she is
defensively. We rely on her a lot in important defensive situations.
“She is willing to
accept that role and do whatever we ask. Everybody looks at her offensive
prowess, but she is a pretty good all-around hockey player for us.”
Lind said the fact
she comes from a hockey loving family helps her game. Her father, Ashley, used
to play.
Older brother Kole
used to star for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, and he now plays for the Utica
Comets, who are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Older sister
Tenelle is a rookie defender with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s
hockey team.
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| Wildcats C Taylor Lind eludes Stars winger Anna Leschyshyn. |
Mother, Marcia, has been
a huge source of support for all her children in their hockey pursuits.
“It has been crazy,”
said Taylor Lind. “Everything growing up, it has always been a competition in
our house.
“It has really
helped myself and all my siblings lots knowing everything you do you want to
win. You want to be the top and the best, and you don’t want to stop until you
are.”
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| Taylor Lind tries to work her way around the offensive zone. |
Makena Kushniruk,
Joelle Fiala, Chace Sperling, Kaylee Baun and Abby DeCorby each scored singles
for the Stars. Forward Kaitlin Jockims had three assists for Saskatoon.
Kenedee Klevgaard, Ashlee
Wolfe and Shelby Rublee replied with singles for the Wildcats. Carissa Hogan had a pair of assists for Swift Current.
Arden Kliewer turned
away 17 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Stars (17-0). Harper Davey
stopped 21 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wildcats (6-8-1).
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| Taylor Lind works the point on the power play for the Wildcats. |
“I’m glad to see the
girls sticking with it,” said Lind, who works the point on the Wildcats power play. “For the past few games, we’ve been coming
from behind and no give up at all, which is something I love to see.
“In playoff season,
it is going to come up huge. We have to start having some better starts. I mean
the luck is going to come with our work ethic, because we didn’t question
peoples’ work ethic today.”
Lind, who will turn
17-years-old in early January, will play in the National Collegiate Athletic
Association ranks next season with the Lindenwood University Lions women’s
hockey team in St. Charles, Missouri. She is excited to join former Wildcats
teammate and good friend Taylor Kirwan on the Lions roster.
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| Taylor Lind is the Wildcats all-time greatest player. |
“The last time
through I couldn’t imagine any better way to finish it off than a league title,”
said Lind. “We aren’t looking anything short of that.
“I know we have the
group of girls in here to do it and the group of heart to do it. Hopefully,
that is what we finish out with.”
The Wildcats and
Stars go at it again on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.
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