Morgan Eastwood '22 Recruiting Profile

FYI - Taking a gap year after 2021 high school graduation to enter college as a 2022 grad! 

I fell in love with hockey when I was three years old. I spent a lot of time at the rink watching my older brother play goal and I was eager to get out on the ice and try it myself.  My brother and I took every opportunity to skate on our backyard rink, so I was skating long before I began playing. I joined a boys league at the age of 7 as a player. I loved the speed and the chance to attack the puck and try to score. In the second season I joined a rep travel team and they didn’t have a goalie, so I stepped up to follow in my brothers’ footsteps. My Dad is also a goalie so it seemed natural for me to give it a try. Many of the parents on the team gave me the nickname “the cat” because I was always pouncing on the puck.

I played with the boys for 5 years and made some great friends but most importantly, I faced a lot of shots! During my last season of boys hockey, we went to the OMHA semi-finals. It was a great experience early on to learn how to deal with pressure. The following season I moved to a girls rep travel league to play Peewee AA. It was an adjustment and a challenge to say goodbye to my old teammates but I was able to connect with other girls who have the same goals I have. My dream for as long as I can remember has been to play for Team Canada. It would be such an honour to represent my country and my association at that level.

I’ve been working hard on my skills ever since that first season as “the cat”. I have a female goalie coach who supports me and pushes me to go beyond my skill and comfort zone each and every time I see her. My brother also coaches young goalies and provides me with ongoing advice and support. Over my years as a goalie, I have been on teams that have struggled but in my last Bantam season, our team was exceptionally strong. It is important as a goalie to learn how to handle both situations as there are unique challenges playing for a strong team over a weaker team. Through some tough seasons I have learned the importance of hard work, commitment, being resilient and above all GRIT. I feel my greatest strength is my ability to manage my emotions during a game which has been beneficial in terms of my consistency. I know what it takes to stay composed until the final buzzer no matter what the score is, and I know how to fight to keep my team in a game. I believe I am a leader by example. I don’t allow emotion to impact my game. I enjoyed my first season (2017-2018) with the Brampton Canadettes Bantam AA team and had a 1.27 GAA and a personal record of 45-5-2. This season in Midget AA I have a current GAA of 1.58. I am also very honoured to be returning to the organization next season to play on the Brampton Canadettes Intermediate AA (PWHL) team.

Outside of the rink, I also played baseball for a few years on a boys team, and more recently played 3 years of rep softball. My softball team won gold at the Provincial Championships in the 2017 season and we then participated in the National Championships. I have also participated in track and field for a number of years earning a chance to compete each year at our city wide track and field events. I have played on the basketball, volleyball and badminton teams through to grade 8 but now I am trying to focus on a few core sports and of course my marks! If time allowed for it, I would try every sport. I love being active and I love to compete.

My goal for high school is to graduate with distinction. I intend to pursue a career in the science/medical field as I love the idea of helping others and solving complex problems. In addition to also continuing to work towards my goal to play the highest level of hockey, I would like to develop myself as a spokesperson for young female athletes. I recognize that our goals can only be achieved if we have a strong foundation of support to carry us through the challenges associated with high level sport. I have been very lucky to have that myself and I want to inspire, lead and support other young athletes during their journey to their goals. I have had a few opportunities to assist my goalie coach at sessions with her younger goalies and it has been a fantastic experience. I want to build on those experiences and give back to the female hockey community on an ongoing basis in the future.