The Cochrane Chaos has capped off a successful first year – and is now looking ahead to a sophomore season with both a prospect and a development camp for players.
“That has been the theme for us since we started: highlighting Cochrane talent, but also getting the youngest girls excited about where they can play in the future,” said Chaos coach Laura Olsen. "We feel like we've been given a really neat platform to do that."
The Chaos debuted its squad last year in the Alberta Junior Female Hockey League and pushed hard through its inaugural season – making it to the second round of the AJFHL playoffs after beating out the Calgary Titans in Round 1.
“We surprised a lot of people this year,” Olsen said. “It was really nice to make it past the first round.”
In addition to their passionate style of play, the team also made it a priority to be visually present as ambassadors of the sport throughout the season, including helping out at a couple of girls try hockey day events.
Olsen said one of the things that makes the Chaos unique is the team’s commitment to the community.
"We've had at least two or three of our girls go out and either coach independently other Cochrane or rural teams, or skate with the atom or bantam teams on a consistent basis. We don't ask them to do that – they independently have gone and found teams," she said. “That’s the kind of environment that we’re trying to foster. It’s really nice to see that kind of mentorship.”
To kick off the start of their second season, Olsen said the Chaos is excited to host a weekend of hockey from May 5 to 7 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, including face time with prospects, as well as development opportunities for atom/peewee and bantam/midget players.
Olsen said she’s happy to offer prospective players a chance to get to know the team – now that they’ve had a season under their belt.
“This year, we’re really lucky because girls want to play for our team, they know who we are – they’re not coming in completely blind like they did last year,” she said. “They’re able to see, ‘Do my values line up with their values?’ We love that.”
Olsen and her coach colleagues on the team will continue to scout for talent throughout the summer, and official Chaos tryouts will be held in late August or early September.
As the Chaos moves into the sophomore years, Olsen said the coaching staff has goals beyond their own team as well: to build up the reputation and cache of the league as a whole, so players with aspirations to play even higher-level hockey will see the AJFHL as a stepping stone to future success.
“We want to elevate ourselves and the league with us … I think we have the talent and the tools to use this as a league to really build up players,” she said. “If we can get an 18-year-old girl out of midget AAA, develop her for a year or two and she goes down to the States … that’s where I hope and certainly what we’re attempting to do.”
