MEET TAYLOR COSTELLA!

Tell us about yourself!

I am from Manchester, Michigan. I am currently a member of the PWHPA. This year will be my 18th year of playing hockey. Before the PWHPA, I played on a women’s travel team here in Michigan and I played my last years of amateur hockey with the Westland Mustangs 19U girls AA team. I also played for the Livonia Knights 16U girls AA team, and the Ann Arbor Cougars AA girls program from 12U to 14U. Before that I played for the Chelsea Bulldogs house program from five years old until 11 years old. Right now I am training for the upcoming season.

What made you want to be a WHL Brand Ambassador?

I want to be a WHL brand ambassador because over the last year, I have been coaching a learn to play program, an adult learn to play/practice, and I have been coaching my own 12U team as well. I coach to help give back to my local hockey community and hope to help others find the same love and compassion for the sport as I have now. Every time I step on the ice to coach, I have the chance to help others improve their skills and knowledge of the game. Although I decided to not play in college and go to a community college before transferring to save money for medical school, at the time I started college (in 2016), there wasn’t a great opportunity for supporting myself financially and continuing my hockey career professionally after college, as you know.

When I learned about the PWHPA I saw something that isn’t just about now or myself, it’s about the future of women’s professional hockey and how we can make it better for the future generations. That way, they don’t have to choose between schooling and hockey like I did. Not playing college because of a lack of professional opportunities and pay after they graduate shouldn’t even cross their minds when our generation is done.

What are you most looking forward to as a #WHLAMBASSADOR?

I am excited that as a WHL ambassador I can help bring the ambition, dedication, and perseverance that is needed when fighting for the future of women’s professional hockey. I am also excited to help others be shaped through hockey as I was. I have been given the opportunity to be shaped into not only an accomplished player and teammate, but also a well-rounded person.

What’s something not a lot of people know about you?

Something not a lot of people know about me is that I love to fish and cook. At one point I thought about becoming a professional chef. A funny quirk that most people don’t know about me is that I can catch a gnat with one hand out of the air.

If you could sit down and have dinner with one female hockey player, who would it be and why?

I would sit down and have dinner with Hilary Knight. She has always been a player that I looked up to and is one of my favorite players that I haven’t been able to meet yet.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given in hockey or in life?

That you are never too old to chase your dreams and you should be willing to take risks to get there.

What’s your dream for women’s hockey?

To have a single viable professional women’s ice hockey league in North America.

WANT TO JOIN OUR #WHLAMBASSADOR TEAM?

GET MORE DETAILS AND APPLY HERE!