SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — Two-time Olympic champion Shannon Szabados said she felt a little torn Saturday night.
Szabados, both a passionate curling fan and an Edmonton Oilers supporter, had a tough choice between attending the men’s quarterfinal draw of the Humpty’s Champions Cup or watching the NHL draft lottery with her team in contention once again for the No. 1 overall pick.
Fortunately technology allowed her to not miss a minute of each.
“I wanted to come watch the boys obviously but the draft lottery is going on so we managed to stream it live and watch both at the same time,” said Szabados, who backstopped the Canadian women’s hockey team to gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games. “Fourth overall is not bad, hopefully something we can build on.”
Szabados also had to relay the word to Marc Kenendy and Ben Hebert of Team Kevin Koe down on the sheet.
“Marc and Ben kind of kept coming over to see. Marc is an Edmonton-born guy so he was saying, ‘How are the Oilers doing?’” she said with a laugh. “As soon as we got it I gave him the No. 4 and he’s like, ‘Ah that’s okay I guess.’”
The 29-year-old from Edmonton said she starting following curling around the time of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and became friends with Hebert and Kennedy when they were playing with Kevin Martin.
“The first time I actually got into it was before the Vancouver Olympics and then being around and getting to know Kevin Martin’s team,” she said. “I got to know Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy really well and just kind of jumped on the bandwagon. I went and watched them play live in Vancouver and got to watch their gold-medal game. I’ve been a fan ever since.”
There wasn’t any other choice for which team Szabados was cheering for during the men’s quarterfinals.
“Benny got me the tickets today so I’ve got go with Team Koe,” she said. “Like I said, I got to know them pretty well from the Vancouver Olympics so I’m a big fan of theirs. Marc lives close to me, always run into him through the year. They’re pretty good friends of mine so I’ve got to be cheering for them.”
Szabados recently wrapped up her second full year in Georgia with the Columbus Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Playing against the boys is completely normal for Szabados as she suited up for four exhibition games with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans in 2002 — splitting time between the pipes with fellow future Olympic champ Carey Price — and she also played four seasons right here for the Sherwood Park Crusaders of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
This season saw her become the first female goaltender to record a shutout in a men’s pro hockey league and she continues to be a trailblazer breaking down the gender barrier in sports.
“It’s been fun,” she said. “I started playing hockey when I was five and I’ve always played against guys so it’s just kind of what I’m used to. I’ve been fortunate enough to go down south and play professionally and I’m having a blast doing it.”
Szabados said it’s also cool to see the gender gap closing in curling with Rachel Homan’s team taking on the men earlier this season during the Pinty’s GSOC Elite 10.
“There’s a lot of pretty powerful female role models out there so it’s nice to see,” she said.
Playing down in Georgia for most of the year doesn’t exactly give her much time to watch curling live, but she enjoyed getting the chance to check out the Humpty’s Champions Cup at the sold-out Sherwood Park Arena Sports Centre.
“The crowd is awesome,” she said. “It’s fun to come watch it live and see all the different games going on at the same time. I got a nice close-up view of Team Koe today so it was fun.”