Taya Currie becomes first female ever selected in OHL draft

Taya Currie has made history, becoming the first female to be drafted in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

Currie, a 16-year-old goaltender from Parkhill, Ont., was drafted by the Sarnia Sting 267th overall.

#OHLDraft history! ????

Congrats to goaltender Taya Currie of @ALLIANCE_Hockey's @EMCChiefs, the first female ever chosen in the Priority Selection, joining @StingHockey at 267th overall: https://t.co/Vn9S9i8MdT pic.twitter.com/fDsmT13vYt

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) June 5, 2021

Touted as one of Alliance Hockey’s top goaltenders and heralded by OHL scouts for her athleticism, Currie has played with the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs AAA boys’ team since she was in minor-atom.

“She deserves it out of anyone,” Noah VandenBrink, a forward who has played alongside Currie, recently told The London Free Press. “She works for it and she’s one of the better goalies in the (Alliance) league. It’s crazy to me to think she has made it this far and been so dominant.”

From the time Currie started playing hockey, she was drawn to the crease, idolizing Shannon Szabados, the first woman to play in the Western Hockey League.

“Congrats Taya! Watching this live,” Szabados tweeted after the selection. “Can’t wait to watch you on the world stage one day.”

In elite divisions of minor hockey, especially in smaller communities, it’s not uncommon for girls to play alongside boys. Often, they choose not to continue past 13 or 14 years old.

“We’re a pretty close team and I wanted to play the most competitive hockey I can,” Currie told The Press. “In bantam, all the girls I played against switched over, but I wanted to try something different.”