Sharks captain Kulbida commits to U of R

But it’s not just the hockey program that drew her in.

Kulbida is really looking forward to their kinesiology program and was impressed by the campus when she toured it this past spring.

“When I went there for a tour, I loved the university. It was awesome. It’s nice and small,” she said. “I’m just really excited to be a part of everything – the school it’s awesome, the kinesiology program I heard is supposed to be one of the best there, so I’m really excited to be a part of that.

“Sports is my passion and I can just see myself in the future helping athletes who are injured and helping them recover and get back to the game they love.”

Coach Hodges had the opportunity to view Kulbida several times in a short span, first at a showcase in Calgary, then at the Notre Dame showcase, then with the Sask First program and then finally at the Regina Cougars spring camp in April.

“We kind of saw her like four weeks in a row,” Hodges said. “I think the biggest thing is she’s just a good athlete. So I think she’s going to just get way better when she gets here because she’ll catch on quick and… she’s got a lot of things that are going to transfer to the [U-Sports] level well. She’s a good skater, so she’s got explosiveness that not a lot of people have.”

But it’s more than just her strong acceleration that has Hodges excited.

She has also solid puck skills and a knack for scoring.

“She gets to top speed very quickly, so that’s part of it,” Hodges explained. “I think it’s more the ability to score and the decisions that she makes with the puck are key. Because I think those are the things you really can’t teach. But the speed certainly helps.”

Sharks coach Gary Berggren, who has known for quite some time about Kulbida’s decision and honoured her request to keep it quiet, said it’s great for the organization to have yet another player make it to the higher ranks.

“The organization is super proud of Jordan and her commitment to U of R,” he said. “It is really good to see that players from a small town succeed and go on to play at a higher level.”

The final factor that went into Kulbida’s decision – other than the hockey and kinesiology programs – was the fact that Regina is close to her hometown of Saskatoon.

The goal is for her parents see most of her games.

“My parents are a big part of my life and I just want them to be with me every step of the way,” Kulbida said.

This season, the Cougars are 10-6-0, which is fourth place in the eight-team Canada West conference. Last season, they fell in the conference semi-finals to the eventual west champions, the UBC Thunderbirds.

Although the team is young, Hodges said they are right where they want to be, and added that she thinks Kulbida should be able to make an immediate impact when she gets there next season.

“We have a pretty young team but that means we’re just going to get better,” Hodges said. “I’m excited about her. She’s got a lot of offensive ability that we’ll see at this level and I think in some ways she can have an immediate impact so I think it’s exciting.”

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Sharks captain Kulbida commits to U of R

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