by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Kayla Gardner is a former NCAA DI and professional hockey player. She is an Ojibwe from Eagle Lake First Nation. Her Indian name is Diindiisi, which means ‘blue jay’.
“Our family moved to Warroad, MN when I was 13 to play on the varsity high school hockey team with the Warroad Warriors,” said Kayla. “After high school, I went on to play NCAA DI hockey at The University of North Dakota with a full scholarship. I was a three time WCHA Scholar Athlete.”
“After college, I signed my first professional contract with the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL. I played in the CWHL for a year and then decided to play overseas where I signed my second professional contract with the Brynäs IF of the SDHL,” added Kayla.
This is the first year Kayla has not played hockey. She decided to work for a year and played in a few recreational tournaments, and she has a couple tournaments coming up in April 2020.
“Two tribal core values are very important to me, which include integrity and humility,” said Kayla. “These core values define who I am as an athlete because I think it’s important to be honest with yourself and others. I also think it’s extremely important to be humble about your accomplishments.”
“My high school hockey coach David Marvin, also known as Izzy, positively influenced me as a competitive athlete,” said Kayla. “He was the best coach I ever had and I’m extremely grateful to have moved to Warroad and had him as a coach for five years.”
Coach Izzy said: “Fast, highly skilled, high hockey IQ. Awesome kid and super smooth goal-scoring machine. Loved coaching her.”
“My high school Native American arts teacher Jaimie Snowdon also positively influenced me as a competitive athlete,” said Kayla. “I always enjoyed attending his classes and he was always so supportive of my sisters and I.”
“Lastly, my college hockey coach Peter Elander also positively influenced me as a competitive athlete,” said Kayla. “He is a great coach and just a great individual overall. He always pushed me to compete at my best level and he played a big factor in me playing overseas in the SDHL.”
“I’m not sure if I’m done playing for good or what the future holds for me as an athlete,” said Kayla. “Regardless of whether I decide to play competitively again or not, I will continue to try and be a role model for younger players.”
“Hockey has allowed me to travel all over the world and I’m really thankful for that,” said Kayla. “I’ve played in four different counties including Canada, America, China, and Sweden.”
“The advice that I would give to young student athletes to be successful is that hard work pays off,” said Kayla. “Nothing is going to come easy and you’re going to be pushed out of your comfort zone but it will all be worth it in the end.”
