‘I just can’t imagine us leaving without this trophy;’ Hurricanes captain Maddy Clapham

Maddy Clapham is ready to take on warmups before round-robin game action at the 2023 ACHA Women’s Hockey Championship in Montague, P.E.I.

(Reegan MacAulay)

Maddy Clapham was 18 when she was recruited by the Saint Mary’s University women’s hockey team.

She had to leave her parents in her home province of Ontario while dealing with mental health problems, and she didn’t meet the coaches’ expectations when hockey camp arrived.

“I did not perform well whatsoever in the fitness testing. That caused quite a divide between me and my teammates because the other seven rookies that came in killed it.”

It would only get worse from there, as she suffered a concussion in an exhibition game. Over the next six months, more poor fitness tests and a continuous disconnection with the team led to one fateful day.

“I had a meeting with the head coach where he told me that I was not on the team for the following year. That destroyed me. I just had freshly turned 19 and thought I had four more years of college hockey to go.

“As far as I knew, my career was over.”

She stayed another year to continue studies and play lacrosse.

“I knew deep down; I was not done playing hockey. That couldn’t be the end of my story.”

Indeed, it wouldn’t be.

Years later, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Clapham took a tour of Holland College in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

The tour, arranged by the women’s hockey team coaches, would be the situation which changed her life forever.

“I knew that this was where I was meant to be.”

For the next three years, Clapham went on to be a key player with the Holland Hurricanes women’s hockey team, making many friends, inspiring others, and turning her life around.

Her biggest inspiration on the journey would be the head coach and former Hurricanes player Meagan Ferguson.

“I’ve gone through a lot in my own personal life, and no matter what it was, she was always there, whether it was meeting in her office for a talk, going out for a coffee, getting a motivational text, and even the little things she says between shifts.

“She’s never been a coach to scream at us when we do things wrong. It was always one-on-one to make us understand what we can do better. It’s impossible to be sad around someone like her.

“I always knew I could depend on her. Kind of like a safe place to me. I’m looking forward to seeing how our relationship grows following hockey.”

Ferguson had only positive things to say about Clapham’s on-ice impact.

“Claps has passion for the game and for the Hurricanes. She came in with high-calibre hockey experience and brought some great competitive hockey IQ with her. It’s great to see her translate that to Hurricanes hockey, talk strategy, drills, etc,” she said in an email.

Although coaches tend to pick who earns the “C” patch in a season, Ferguson chose to let the team decide who earned the captaincy in year three.

Clapham won the vote. Ferguson was not surprised.

“I believe it was her experience (third and final year) and her vision for building a competitive and proud group that earned her those votes.”

Every athlete wants to be a captain for their team, Clapham said.

“For being a captain for the first time, it was an incredible honour with these amazing girls.

“I’ll be honest, when I did first get the C, I think I put too much pressure on myself to be the perfect captain. That ultimately affected my playing, and I was bumped down to the third line.

“It was the reality check and the fire that I needed under me to get me back where I needed to be. And it worked.”

The Hurricanes would go on to finish second in the regular-season standings with a 3-3-1 (wins-losses-ties) record. Clapham scored two goals and two assists over the seven games.

Her favourite memory was the team’s final road trip to Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. Originally scheduled for a doubleheader, inclement weather cancelled one game, while the other game was a 2-1 loss.

Despite coming home tired and grouchy, the final two hours on the bus were an entirely different story.

“We got the speakers and karaoke going. It was supposed to be “rookie idol,” but everyone wanted a turn. Sitting there, singing and dancing with everyone, it was like nothing else mattered other than just that moment.

“It was really beautiful. This short five-month season we had brought us together as one dysfunctional family.”

Maddy Clapham is grateful for those who have helped her on her journey in a video interview prior to the 2023 ACHA Women’s Hockey Championship. Her jersey from year one, a picture from year two, and the championship trophy. The video is public on the Holland Hurricanes YouTube channel.

(Holland Hurricanes YouTube)

As she entered the final championship weekend of her college career, Clapham accepted the opportunity of having her first interview. She was nervous, but so was I, it being the first time I was doing an interview to be marked for college.

Despite the nervousness, Clapham has all the confidence in the world for her team.

“It really is a bittersweet moment. I’m dreading it. But I’m so confident in this group of girls and how we play together as a team.

“We’ve worked so hard. Every opportunity we were given to get better, even when it was hard to find ice time, we did. We know the game doesn’t start when the puck drops, but when everyone shows up to the rink to prepare.

“We have the most skill that Holland College has ever put together on a hockey team.

“I just can’t imagine us leaving without this trophy. This is our championship. The trophy is coming home with us.”

With the interview over, Clapham and I knew we had both persevered against the nervousness of being first timers for an interview.

“We did it,” she said.

Three days later, we were celebrating after the team defeated Acadia 2-1 to win the championship.

I walked on to the ice to celebrate with Clapham after successfully broadcasting the game. I called her name, and I repeated the three words as she turned her head with her parents by her sides.

“We did it.”

Captain Maddy Clapham and Hurricanes broadcaster Reegan MacAulay celebrate the Hurricanes’ 2023 ACHA championship. From the interview’s inspiring stories to MacAulay calling Clapham’s early goal in the gold-medal game, everything came full circle. A perfect weekend.

(Greg Ellison)

Video interview with Maddy Clapham:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCRecNU0_c

Reegan MacAulay,

Feb. 15, 2023.