Hockey has taken Kiana Wilkinson out of her comfort zone.
After she graduated from high school, the sport took her from her Prince George, B.C., home and across the country to little-known (to her) Saint Mary’s University, where she spent five seasons with the Huskies, including her final two as team captain.
She had never been that far east.
After she graduated last spring with a degree in biology and psychology, Wilkinson was contacted by teams in Sweden and Hungary before signing a professional contract with the Kunlun Red Star Vanke Rays in Russia’s (Zhenskaya) Women’s Hockey League.
It was hard to pass up an opportunity to play pro hockey and getting paid to play, especially as a female.
She had never stepped outside of the country until she boarded a non-stop flight from Vancouver to London, en route to Moscow in September.
“It’s crazy to think I’m here in Russia and the adventure it was to come here by myself,” Wilkinson – the 2019-20 SMU female athlete of the year – said in a recent phone interview from Stupino, Russia, where the KRS Vanke Rays currently play their home games.
“I had never been out of the country before and here I was, flying late at night, being alone and my first time out of the country, all during a pandemic. It was kind of scary. And then when I arrived in Russia there was a huge language barrier going through the airport. I probably should’ve studied the language before I came here. But I made it.
“I would never be here without hockey and I’m super grateful for the opportunities the sport has given me.”
Wilkinson thought hockey was done when COVID hit
Vanke Rays head coach Brian Idalski contacted Wilkinson back in January about a possible pro opportunity with his club following her collegiate career.
At the time, the team was playing its home games in Shenzhen, China. The Vanke Rays is the only club not based in Russia. But with heightened entry restrictions into Russia amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the team has temporarily relocated to Stupino in the Moscow Oblast, about 115 kilometres south of the Russian capital.
When the coronavirus shut the sports world down in March, Wilkinson thought it was the end of her hockey career.
“When COVID hit and everything went crazy, I had to finish school online and I had accepted the fact that I had to hang up the skates,” the 23-year-old recalled.
Idalski reached out again in August and offered Wilkinson a contract.
“It all happened really quickly,” said Wilkinson, who signed a one-year deal but expects to be back with the Vanke Rays next season.
“It was hard to pass up an opportunity to play pro hockey and getting paid to play, especially as a female. The decision wasn’t that hard, that’s for sure.
“I’m having a blast right now. This organization treats us really well, everything from the gear we wear to the meals they serve us. We each have our own rooms. We’re treated like professionals.”
A Canadian contingent on Krs Vanke Rays
Having 10 Canadians on the team has made the transition easier. Among them is veteran Jessica Wong of Baddeck. The 29-year-old blue-liner is in her fourth season with the KRS Vanke Rays.
There are four other British Columbians on the roster, including two – Leah Lum and Emily Costales – whom Wilkinson played against in the junior ranks.
“I was actually supposed to travel with them from B.C. but their COVID results didn’t come in time so I had to fly by myself,” Wilkinson said.
“Being familiar with some people on this team kind has helped and our whole team speaks English so that’s been nice. But it’s weird to walk around here and you speak English to them and they have no idea what you’re saying. It’s different but I like it.”
Wilkinson added that the “pace is quicker and the players smarter” than what she’s used to on this side of the Atlantic.
“The talent here is incredible and the ice size is way bigger. That was an adjustment,” she said. “And it’s way more aggressive here. People are slashing and penalties are never called for that. It’s different than the AUS where you’re always called for two minutes. Here, it’s just normal. These are women playing here not teenagers.”
COVID measures lax away from rink
Each team is slated to play 30 games – televised on YouTube – which will take Wilkinson to the far reaches of Russia: from the grandeur of Saint Petersburg, to Yekaterinburg in western Siberia to Krasnoyarsk, 4,000 kilometres east on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Through six games this season, the KRS Vanke Rays are 5-1. But they’ve already had two games postponed because of positive coronavirus cases on the opposing team.
Wilkinson said her team is tested for COVID-19 every five days and before each game. While she feels safe around her team, away from the rink protective measures are lax.
“Some people are wearing masks,” Wilkinson said. “But it seems the Russian way to wear a mask is to not cover the nose. There really isn’t any social distancing here either.
“Our team, obviously, is very cautious about everything. Everyone that’s involved with the team, whether it’s the bus driver or who prepares our meals, they’re all safe and doing their part. Unfortunately, you can’t control everyone else outside the team.
“We’re in a pretty small town. We can go to the grocery store but we need to keep our masks and gloves on. It’s all common sense. But we’re definitely not driving to Moscow on our own, that’s for sure. Our off days usually consist of a lot of Netflix, Face-Time with the family or just hanging out with the girls playing cards.”
Looking forward to move to Shenzhen
Wilkinson describes Stupino (population: 70,000) as “a pleasant resort town surrounded by forests.” However, she’s looking forward to the day when the team returns to its permanent home of Shenzhen, a metropolis of more than 12 million inhabitants bordering Hong Kong.
The temporary relocation was originally for the first half of the season but COVID travel restrictions will dictate whether the team returns to southeastern China.
“My teammates rave about Shenzhen,” Wilkinson said. “They talk about how fun it was there and how nice the city is and how they wear shorts to the rink in the winter.
“We have a great set up here. But I would love to go there. We’ll see how things play out.”
SMU important part of journey
Starting as a teenager from the opposite end of the country who had never heard of the Atlantic university conference, Wilkinson grew as a player and a person during her five seasons at Saint Mary’s.
She was the recipient of the 2019 AUS student-athlete community service award and capped off her scholastic career with a first-team AUS all-star and second-team U Sports all-Canadian honours last season.
Wilkinson, who led all U Sports blue-liners with 23 assists (and second in points with 23) in her final season with the Huskies, was part of three conference-winning teams and national bronze medallists during her freshman season in 2015-16.
Everyone wants to walk across the stage at your graduation. Instead I had to do a quarantine graduation in my back yard.
But her senior year was cut short because of the COVID-19 outbreak. In March, she packed her belongings and drove cross-country from Halifax to Prince George and completed her studies online from home.
“It was an unfortunate ending for all of us,” Wilkinson recalled. “Everyone wants to walk across the stage at your graduation. Obviously, everyone else in the world had to deal with it the same way. Instead I had to do a quarantine graduation in my back yard in Prince George.
“But I wouldn’t change my time at SMU. I started out not even knowing what the AUS was. I toured the school and the city and absolutely fell in love with Halifax. I just loved the small campus. And Chris (SMU head coach Chris Larade) was a selling point. He was amazing during my five years and we still keep in touch.
“Unfortunately, I got chased out of there quickly with COVID and had to make my way home. But I do not regret one bit my decision to go there. It was the best five years.”
