Seattle Torrent
Seattle native Marah Wagner is playing professional hockey for her hometown team, the Torrent. She skated in her first match last weekend in Vancouver, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Goldeneyes in the first ever Professional Women’s Hockey League game for the two expansion franchises.
“It was nice to have that energy, it (Pacific Colisuem) was an amazing building to play in,” Wagner said after Torrent practice on Wednesday. “I’m excited to bring it back to Seattle for the home opener this Friday and hopefully have that same, even more energy than we had in Vancouver. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The fact that there aren’t any other Washington natives on this hockey roster isn’t unusual, but Wagner’s journey to get back here certainly is …
She left Seattle in tenth grade to go to school across the border in Vancouver. She played some hockey there and then across the continent for the North American Hockey Academy in Vermont. From there she jumped to college hockey, playing for two different schools that aren’t exactly women’s powerhouses. That would be Robert Morris and then Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).
One may have heard of RPI on the men’s side. They won the NCAA championship in 1954 and again in 1985 with a roster that included future Hockey Hall of Famer Adam Oates and future NHL goalie Daren Puppa.
On the ladies side RPI has had some solid teams and some memorable moments, but has never won a conference championship or gone to the NCAA tournament. That said, Wagner is the 7th female player from the school to reach professional hockey.
After college last year she jumped to Sweden to play in the women’s SDHL, where she tallied five goals and nine assists for Skellefteå AIK. This fall, with the PWHL adding two teams, including one in her hometown, Wagner came back for a try out.
She made it.
Naturally, Wagner’s success hinges on talent and hard work, but positive karma could also play a part. For the last few summers she’s come back to coach young girls at hockey camps associated with Sno-King, the program she played in as a youth.
“Really (want to) help show the girls that it’s something they can strive towards, something that they can reach, coming from this area,” she said. “That really means the world to me.”
She’ll have powerful support on hand Friday at Climate Pledge Arena. Some of her camp players will be in attendance screaming and holding up signs, as will her family and a number of friends from her childhood.
Earlier Torrent:
— Kraken Tenants For Now; Torrent Fired Up
Earlier Kraken
— Expect Kraken’s Jared McCann To Return Tonight
