Cochrane's Kara Kondrat is heading to Sweden to play in a professional women's hockey league.
The 24-year has opted to go pro after finishing her storied 6-year university career with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
"I wasn't really ready to give it up and I wanted to experience something new," says Kondrat, "And the appeal of travelling was something exciting for me."
She'll be lacing up for Uppsala and heads to Sweden next week.
"I know it's a different country, so I'm sure there's a bit of a difference in play," she says. "I know there is body contact, so that will be different."
Different, but not something Kondrat hasn't experienced before while playing on boys teams in Cochrane Minor Hockey.
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Kondrat went on to play for the U18 AAA Rocky Mountain Raiders before joining the Huskies for five, well actually six seasons when you count COVID.
She got to enjoy every last minute of her university career, when the Huskies hosted the USports Women's Hockey Championship. The Huskies went into the tournament seeded fifth and advanced to the consolation final against their arch-rivals, the second-seeded UBC Thunderbirds.
MORE: Huskies make consolation final in USports championship
"It was a great way end a career. I enjoyed the whole tournament, whether or not we won in any medals, it was a surreal moment for me. It was a super special team, especially with how many of us graduated together that I played with in my six years."
