Sharks’ Glynn grows into all-around rock on defence

Blue-liner leaves mark on softball diamonds too

Madison Glynn anchors the Sharks back end.

When it came to playing hockey, it wasn’t love at first sight for Madison Glynn.

Glynn has grown up in Saskatoon playing both hockey and softball at high levels after discovering both sports at age three. She remembers that her first forays on to the ice weren’t agreeable.

“I actually started off not liking hockey,” said Glynn. “I kind of cried when I went on the ice the first few times.

“It kind of just grew on me. I liked playing with all my friends and being a part of a team.”

From that auspicious start, Glynn is now a standout 17-year-old veteran defender with the Battlefords Sharks female under-18 AAA hockey team. She is also a standout catcher in softball, but due to a knee injury, she played in the outfield for the Saskatoon Co-op Selects U-19 women’s AA team this past summer while continuing to show off a sweet stroke at the plate.

Madison Glynn is a solid hitter on the softball diamonds.

Glynn recalls her first introduction to softball was more agreeable than her introduction to hockey.

“With ball, it kind of just to me was something just fun to do like all the time, but then it just grew on me,” said Glynn.

As Glynn progressed up through minor hockey and softball, hockey began to emerge more as her main sport. She started out playing forward in hockey and switched to defence in her second year in the atom age category.

Glynn played hockey mainly on boys’ teams deciding to switch over to playing on girls’ teams full time at the peewee age level. She had the desire to ultimately play at the female under-18 AAA level.

Before that desire could be fulfilled, Glynn suffered a setback.

“Going into bantam my first year, I didn’t make the double-A team, and I only made the A-team,” said Glynn. “It kind of like motivated me more that what I wanted to do was play triple-A.”

Madison Glynn snipes a shot on goal for the Sharks.

The motivation kicked Glynn into a higher gear. After one season of hockey at the bantam age level, she attended spring camp and fall camp with the Sharks in Battleford.

After going through the disappointment of not making a bantam AA team as a 13-year-old, Glynn received an unexpected surprise from the Sharks.

“Battlefords just offered me a spot when I was 14,” said Glynn. “It wasn’t an opportunity I wanted to pass up.”

As a 14-year-old underage player with the Sharks in 2017-18, Glynn, who stands 5-foot-8, suited up for 22 regular season games netting three goals and two assists. Those were pretty solid totals for a first-year defender in her underage campaign in the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League.

Madison Glynn patrolled the outfield for the Selects.

Glynn had a goal and three assists skating in 24 regular season games as a 15-year-old sophomore in 2018-19. Last season, she emerged as more off an offensive-defender posting seven goals and six assists in 28 regular season games.

After three complete seasons, Glynn had emerged as one of the most reliable defenders in the SFU18AAAHL who had a strong presence when it came to controlling play in her own zone. Going into her final campaign at the under-18 AAA level this season, Glynn feels like she has come a long ways.

“I feel like every aspect of my game has improved quite a lot,” said Glynn. “We had three different coaches.

“They all brought different aspects that allowed me to improve that much more.”

Madison Glynn is sound at controlling play in her own end.

Following the completion of the SFU18AAAHL regular season in 2019-20, all post-season play was cancelled in March after the world came under the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, the Sharks were only able to play two exhibition games and two regular season contests before the campaign was paused due to Public Health Orders that were brought in to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

As for the two regular season outings, the Sharks fell 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 21 to the Northern Bears in Prince Albert and dropped a 9-5 decision to the Northern Bears one day later on home ice at the Battleford Arena. Glynn scored a goal in the home ice setback.

The Sharks are playing under the guidance of new head coach Ricci Girolami, who had previously been a bench boss on the circuit as an assistant coach with the Saskatoon Stars from 2011 to 2013. Glynn was excited about the Sharks prospects with Girolami guiding the team.

Madison Glynn jets down the base path after a hit.

“I had Ricci as a coach for spring hockey maybe when I was like 12, and I’ve always liked him,” said Glynn. “This year like coming in, he definitely made a real big impact on our team.

“He knows what he wants. We know what he wants, and we know what to expect from him. There are no surprises.

“He definitely pushes us to be better as team. This year even our first exhibition game and our first regular season game was the best in the four years that I have played with the Sharks. It was the strongest we’ve been and the most we’ve played as a team.”

Over the years, Glynn has experienced her share of success on the softball diamonds. The Saskatoon Phantoms team she played on in 2014 qualified for the Under-14 Girls’ Canadian Fast Pitch Championship that was held in Brampton, Ont., and Glynn captured the award as the tournament’s MVP.

Madison Glynn had 13 points in 28 regular season game in 2019-20.

In 2019, Glynn helped the Phantoms win the under-16 provincial title and qualify for the Under-16 Girls’ Canadian Fast Pitch Championship in Calgary, Alta.

Glynn has enjoyed the experiences she has gained in softball. She was happy to play this past summer even with the differences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her regular season with the Selects ran July and August along with a handful of days at the start of September. All invitational, provincial and national championship tournaments were cancelled due to the pandemic.

“For ball, we have practices like a lot,” said Glynn. “This year I think we maybe had like two practices once the season started.

Madison Glynn, right, has gone to two nationals on the diamond.

“We didn’t get very many. It was weird not going to tournaments every weekend and going to provincials and potentially nationals. It didn’t feel the same, but it was still good that we got to play.”

Glynn graduated from high school a year early this past June and was looking forward to focusing on training for and playing hockey.

She credits her mom, Tammy, and father, Trevor, for being the biggest influences in helping her out in playing both sports.

Following her time with the Sharks, Glynn wants to play hockey at the post-secondary level in 2021-22, but still expects to return to the softball diamonds in the hockey off-season.

Madison Glynn aims to play hockey at the post-secondary level.

“Ball is kind of just what I come back to in the summer,” said Glynn. “Hockey is like really what I want to do and what I want to continue on.

“I’ve like talked to a few schools, but nothing has panned out fully yet. That is what my end goal is it is to play university or college somewhere.”

Until something works out on that front, Glynn hopes to she will get the chance to continue the current season with the Sharks. 

Because the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the hockey schedule, Glynn tries to soak in every moment she is on the ice.

“It has definitely been really different,” said Glynn. “You don’t know what to expect.

Madison Glynn, left, has enjoyed her time with the Sharks.

“You don’t know which game is going to be your last game. You kind of have to play with the mindset like maybe this is my last game. I need to do everything I can that I am not going to regret, if I didn’t play my best.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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