TINY'S LAUREN DABROWSKI TO PLAY PRO HOCKEY IN SWEDEN

THE FORMER NORTH SIMCOE CAPITAL WILL PLAY NEXT SEASON WITH SDE HOCKEY IN STOCKHOLM

Lauren Dabrowski's dreams have became a reality.

The 22-year-old defenceman from Tiny Township has signed a contract with SDE Hockey in Sweden and will play the 2023-24 season in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL).

"My dreams of becoming a pro athlete have come true," said Dabrowski. "It's pretty surreal."

A stellar 2022-23 season at Nova Scotia's St. Francis Xavier University led to international attention for Dabrowski. Teams from the SDHL and the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) showed interest after she notched 15 goals and 19 assists in 28 games.

"I am a very offensive defenceman. They let me play my game and I thrived," said Dabrowski. "I gained a lot of confidence."

Her 34-point season saw her finish fourth in the country in scoring and led to a contract offer from the PHF's Metropolitan Riveters.

She signed the contract and was set to play next season in New Jersey before her dreams were crushed.

On June 29, the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), backed by a group of investors, purchased the PHF with the intention of starting a brandnew

league in North America. All existing PHF contracts, including Dabrowski's, were voided.

"I was pretty distraught," said Dabrowski, who learned of the sale in a late-night video call with teammates.

The next morning, she reached back out to a coach in Sweden and signed a contract with SDE Hockey.

"I haven't established my name, so my chances of getting one of those limited roster spots (in this new league) is rare, so I am going to Sweden."

Her journey from the covered outdoor rink in Lafontaine to Stockholm was full of its fair share of challenges.

Dabrowski was diagnosed with congenital short femur as a child and has had seven surgeries on her left leg in order to lengthen it.

For several years in a row, she would have surgery as soon as the hockey season ended, recover and come back to play the back half of the year.

She skated with a limp for many years, which led to her being underestimated.

After playing for the North Simcoe Capitals, she was cut from the Barrie PWHL team.

"It was a lot of adversity as a kid, but I didn't let it hold me back," she said. "I knew what I was capable of and I didn't want people looking at me differently."

A 26-point season with the PWHL's Aurora Panthers led to interest from several National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools.

Dabrowski picked Lindenwood University and played one season in St. Charles, Missouri, before the pandemic hit and she transferred to St. Francis Xavier.

Her father Ed always knew she was going to have success in hockey.

"She has a drive like I've never seen. Nothing is going to stop her," said Ed, who saw something in Dabrowski at an early age.

"I kept telling her, 'You've got talent out there that nobody else has.' She was steps ahead of everybody else."

Now she's taking that talent to Sweden in hopes of eventually landing a contract in North America.