Ever want to hold an Olympic gold medal? Three-time Olympian makes dreams come true for Tri-City fans

Shannon Szabados is one of the most popular and recognized female hockey players in Canada.

She has two Olympic gold medals and one silver with Team Canada, and a hockey bag full of honors, but some of her fondest hockey memories were made as a teenager with the Tri-City Americans.

“My time here has been something that I have cherished,” she said. “Now that I am older, and look back, it was a huge step in my career. Everything I learned here, and the fans were incredible. (Americans general manager) Bob (Tory) and the staff were incredible. I have no regrets, not for a second. It gave me the confidence to do what I’ve done.”

Szabados and former Americans captain Ben Kilgour were at Toyota Center on Saturday to mix and mingle with the fans. While Kilgour made a visit in the fall, Szabados had not been in the Tri-Cities since 2003 when she attended her second Americans training camp.

Though it’s been 15 years since she skated for the Americans, she has a connection to Tri-City goalie Patrick Dea.

“I skated with Patrick a couple of years ago in Edmonton,” she said. “The hockey world is small, but the goalie world is smaller.”

Kilgour, a native of Leduc, Alberta, was captain of the Americans the first year Szabados was in camp. He had heard her name, but she was more than advertised.

“Shannon already had some buzz,” Kilgour said. “I was playing for my fourth owner in four years, so when they brought her in, it didn’t surprise me. She took care of business as soon as she came in. I was fortunate to play with very good goalies.”

Growing up just 30 minutes apart in Alberta, Kilgour and Szabados never knew each other, but they became fast friends at the Americans’ camp, and they remain good friends. She also still is in contact with former Americans Shawn Belle, Tyler Weiman and Dylan Stanley, and her Team Canada teammate Natalie Spooner is dating former Tri-City American Adam Redmond.

Breaking barriers

Szabados started playing hockey at age 5 and always played with and against boys. She was the first girl to play at the midget AAA level, and in her first season with the Edmonton Maple Leafs she posted a 2.45 goals against average in 17 games.

She was invited to play in the prestigious Mac’s Tournament in 2001, which was where Tory, the Americans general manager, got his first look at Szabados.

The highly touted goalie from Edmonton, Alberta, was invited to the Americans training camp in 2002, and was held over for main camp.

On Sept. 4, she became the first female to play in a WHL preseason game when the Americans played the Vancouver Giants in Ladner, British Columbia. She posted her first exhibition win Sept. 7 against Spokane with 24 saves in a 6-4 victory.

Szabados stayed on to play in four preseason games and became the first female to play in a Western Hockey League regular-season game Sept. 22, against Vancouver.

“Bob gave me my opportunity,” she said. “I’m not big into being in the spotlight, but when I was growing up, there wasn’t anyone for the girls to look up to. It’s cool to go into rinks and it’s nice to see how many people have followed my career.”

The second year Szabados attended camp, a young goalie named Carey Price was named to back up Tyler Weiman. Price went on to become one of the top goalies in the NHL.

“When you look back on the history, they have had some good goaltenders here,” Kilgour said. “Shannon had to battle with Pricer to back up Weiman.”

Added Szabados: “I wasn’t going to win that battle.”

Szabados was released by the Americans and returned to Alberta to play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, where she had a stellar career. She was the recipient of the Friends of Alberta Junior Hockey League Trophy as the AJHL’s Top Goaltender for the 2006–07 season.

Szabados played two full seasons for the men’s team at Grant MacEwan University in Alberta, before her first Olympics in 2010.

She then transferred to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology for the 2011-12 season. She set the regular-season record for shutouts (5) en route to the school’s first Alberta College Athletic Conference Championship in 16 years.

In March 2014, Szabados signed a professional contract with the Columbus Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League. She was the first female to play with a SPHL team. She also had a short stint with the Peoria Rivermen.

Olympic highlights

Szabados has been a part of the Canadian women’s program since 2006, playing in U-22 tournaments, the Four Nations tournament and three Olympics.

Now 31, Szabados played three games at the Olympics for Canada, including the gold-medal game against the United States last month in Pyeongchang.

In that final game, Szabados stopped 40 of 42 shots, including nine in overtime to keep the Canadians in the game.

The Canadians lost in a shootout as Monique Lamoreux-Davidson slid the puck under Szabados’ glove for the Americans’ deciding shootout goal, and a 3-2 win.

Szabados was named the Olympics’ top goalie despite the silver-medal finish. She also won the top goalie award in 2010 after leading Canada to gold at the Vancouver Games.

Szabados also backstopped Canada to gold at the Sochi Winter Games in 2014, beating the Unites States.

She isn’t sure what the future holds beyond the next few months.

“Olympic years are cool for us,” she said. “We travel quite a bit and we do goalie schools. I was never able to come here before because I was always playing this time of year. I know better than to think too far ahead. After Sochi, I was convinced I wouldn’t play in 2018.”

Captain Kilgour

Kilgour, 35, played a handful of ECHL games after he left the Tri-Cities. He went on to play five years for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, and one year in Italy before calling it a career.

“I am 100 percent a fan now,” he said. “The game was so different back then. It’s better now.”

Kilgour, who was not selected in the bantam draft, played four seasons for the Americans.

He was named co-captain along with Blake Evans for the 2000-01 season, then served as captain the next two years. He is the only three-time captain in franchise history.

His best season came in 2001-02 when he scored 36 goals with 46 assists in 70 games. For his career, he played in 265 games, scoring 91 goals with 142 assists (233 points).

Kilgour has been married to his wife, Taryn, for four years, and they have a daughter, Aubrey, who is 2 1/2.

He has been working in the oil and gas business for the past eight years. Kilgour has lived all over the world, including Italy, Louisiana, Toronto, Kenya, Mozambique and Kuwait. He now calls Houston home.

“It has been a whirlwind,” he said. “I travel all over the place. I don’t have a problem working 100 hours a week. You don’t get ahead working 40 hours a week.”

Spoken like a true leader.

This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Ever want to hold an Olympic gold medal? Three-time Olympian makes dreams come true for Tri-City fans."