By Jeff D'Andrea

PA hockey player trying her hand at the pros

May 24, 2013 | 7:04 AM

Danny Stone is about to do something she never thought was possible.

The 22-year-old from Prince Albert has declared for the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) draft, to take place on Aug. 26 in Toronto.

The CWHL is the premier professional women’s league featuring the likes of Canadian Olympians Jayna Hefford, Meghan Agosta-Marciano and many others.

When asked if she ever thought she could make money by playing hockey as a professional, Stone said she never thought it could happen.

“No not at all,” Stone said through a laugh. “When you’re little and you play, you play because it’s fun. Your friends are playing and you just go out there and you have so much energy as a kid.

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“Never once did I think I could be where I am now.”

That’s an unusual line of thinking considering the pro-like resume she has. In her five-year career with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, Stone ranked second in the team’s franchise history in both goals (57) and points (106) in 120 career games.

“Now that I look back on it, it was pretty unreal,” said Stone. “I had such a good group of girls playing with for my five years and no complaints about the coaches at all.

“Without that whole group, right from the players, to the training staff to the coaches, without them, I wouldn’t have been able to play or exceed as well as it did.”

There are obvious reasons for turning professional, the high competition, the money, the crowds; but Stone has her own personal reason to pursue pro hockey.

She doesn’t want to give up the sport and then wonder afterwards how far she could have gone—something that’s already happened before.

After excelling at both hockey and track and field in high school, Stone fielded numerous scholarship offers in both sports before making the tough decision to leave track behind.

“I kicked myself in the butt for that, wondering if I ever could have went in that route (in track) and done well,” said Stone. “I didn’t want to make that choice again to stop playing and always to have that question of ‘what if I kept pursuing my dream and kept going at it?’”

Although Stone doesn’t know where she’ll end up, signs point to Team Alberta. In the CWHL, only two players from Saskatchewan played for Team Alberta, by far the nearest team.

One of those Saskatchewanians happens to be Chelsea Purcell, who Stone played with in her first two seasons with the Huskies.

Both remain good friends and Purcell, the captain of Team Alberta, has kept in close contact with Stone throughout the drafting process.

“She was my role model when I was with Huskies, she had a big role in recruiting me for that team so I always looked up to her,” said Stone. “Now that she’s been in the same spot, it feels good to has someone there for you that’s been there, knows what they’re doing and has the experience.

“It’s been good to have her there so I can talk, I can text her whenever and she always has an answer for my questions.”

“To move provinces is a big step for me, it’s that much farther from my support system,” added Stone. “To have her there would be a huge bonus.”

Stone is one of five prospects to sign up for this year’s draft. She is the only CIS alumnus so far and the lone player from Saskatchewan.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea