Becky KELLAR

As a child, defenseman Becky Kellar played ringette but soon decided that ice hockey was her passion. When she entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island in 1993 she spent four years on the school’s squad while earning her Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology, as well as a teaching certificate. She also played second base on the university’s softball team during her stay. After graduation she joined the Canadian women’s national ice hockey team and attended the 1998 Winter Olympics for her first major international tournament. At the event she suited up for six matches, scored one goal, and took home a silver medal. From that point until the conclusion of the 2006 Winter Olympics, tournament gold eluded her only once, when her team was runner up at the 2005 World Championships. Prior to this she had been victorious at the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004 World Championships, as well as the 2002 Winter Olympics, where she skated in five matches. Only a year after their silver medal finish in 2005 the Canadian women were international champions once more, capturing gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where Kellar played in five matches. She continued to suit up with the national team, albeit with breaks in order to raise her family, and added two more silver medals to her collection at the 2008 and 2009 World Championships. She retired in September 2010, alongside Gina Kingsbury, Carla MacLeod, and Colleen Sostorics, several months after winning a final Olympic gold medal.

In league play, Kellar joined Burlington Barracudas of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, but left prior to the 2009-2010 season. Before her departure, however, she won league honors as top defenseman in 2008 and 2009. Outside of competitions, she helps train young girls at Strictly Hockey, an all-girls hockey school. She was inducted into the Brown Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.