Addition of 16U team significant development for female hockey in Kootenays

Purcell Collegiate School (PCS) is pleased to announce the expansion of its hockey academy programming for the 2025-26 school year after receiving confirmation that Purcell Hockey Academy (PHA) has been awarded a franchise in the Female Super League (FSL), 16U age division.

This is an exciting achievement for PHA and a significant development for female sport in the Kootenay Rockies region of British Columbia. It further establishes the Kimberley-Cranbrook area, home to the Kootenay Hockey Academy (KHA) boys’ 18U program owned and operated by the Cranbrook Bucks of the BCHL, as a hockey hub for elite student-athletes seeking to further their growth and development in the classroom and on the ice as they pursue university scholarships in Canada and the United States.

The FSL was founded by Silent Ice Sports & Entertainment (Silent Ice) to realize the opportunities a female-focused league can generate for girls seeking to excel as players and as students. The FSL is led by Commissioner Hayley Runnalls, a passionate advocate for female sport and the opportunities youth hockey can create for girls.

As Runnalls has previously stated about her role as FSL commissioner, she is “…committed to building a culture of excellence, inclusivity, and empowerment within the FSL, ensuring that young female athletes have the support and resources they need to thrive both on and off the ice.”

Duncan MacLeod, Head of School at PCS, shares that vision and echoes that commitment. “We are both excited and proud to be bringing a Female Super League franchise to Kimberley as part of Purcell Hockey Academy. Our participation in the FSL and our partnership with Silent Ice extends and enhances our ability to support the growth and development of female student-athletes at Purcell Collegiate School.

“Coupled with our 19U female hockey program, we are cultivating a world-class educational opportunity that is both accessible to local girls and attractive to elite international female student-athletes. It’s a win-win scenario for all participants in these exceptional programs.”

The PHA 16U franchise in the FSL will begin play in the fall of 2025. PHA is actively recruiting female players for both its teams (16U team in the FSL and 19U team that plays an elite independent schedule) and welcomes inquiries from players/their parents as well as interested recruiters and scouts.

For more information, email [email protected], follow PHA on social media at @purcellhockey, or visit the school’s website at www.purcellcollegiate.ca.

As previously announced, PCS is also recruiting boys to the KHA 18U program. PCS is KHA’s primary education provider with PCS recruiting male student-athletes from outside the Kimberley-Cranbrook area to play for KHA while attending school at PCS and boarding in PCS’s dormitory.

If you live in the Kimberley-Cranbrook area and are interested in learning more about Purcell Collegiate School and/or Purcell Hockey Academy, you are invited to attend an Open House event in the meeting roomat Trickle Creek Lodge on Wednesday, January 29 at 7 p.m.

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