Women’s Hockey News

Kryshanda Green is excelling on and off the ice at for the Ryerson Rams but it hasn’t always been an easy accomplishment for the 24-year-old, when only two years ago she left the game behind.

Green-Kryshandra_(Headshot).jpg (81 KB)After playing three seasons in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), Green got her OUA start in 2012 when the Western Mustangs recruited her. Despite being named to the OUA All-Rookie team that year, Green struggled academically.

After just one year at Western, Green was quick to decide that pursuing higher education wasn’t the right fit for her and withdrew from her studies, and ultimately hockey.

It was tough for news to break to her grandfather, former NHLer, Bill Riley.

“I didn’t tell him directly, I think my mom told him, but he was not happy,” says Green. “He didn’t understand, he didn’t want me to waste my time just doing whatever. But he never lost faith in me coming back to the game. He always thought that it was going to happen. He just thought I was a great hockey player that shouldn’t have left in the fashion that I did.”

Riley played in 139 games during his NHL career, making his debut with the expansion Washington Capitals in 1974-75, donning the No.8 on his jersey long before current Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin.

After Green decided to leave hockey behind she devoted her time to pursue a career in hip-hop, performing as a solo rap artist in the Won-life Music Group.

Over the course of two years Green opened for over 50 shows around the Greater Toronto-Area.

It just felt like an accomplishment after every show, regardless of how many people were there or what came of it that I got on stage and did my thing and people enjoyed it.

Kryshanda Green

But Green adds it wasn’t always easy for her to take to the stage, noting she suffered from stage fright – something she said didn’t affect her when playing hockey.

My music is more personal, So for me to show that side of me or open up is very nerve racking.

Kryshanda Green

After being away from the sport for two years, Green began lacing up her skates once again, but this time it wasn’t for the Mustangs. Ryerson head coach Lisa Haley reached out to Green, hoping she would commit to the Rams.

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“I remember watching Kryshanda play when she was in junior, playing…for the Toronto Aeros organization, and I had actually been trying to recruit her to come to Ryerson,” says head coach Haley. “She had a lot of different schools that she had options to attend…Although it took a few years longer than we wanted, I think we would both agree that Ryerson has been really great for Krash, and Krash has been really great for Ryerson.”

Green is currently in her third season with the Rams with the famed No.8 on her back that her grandfather wore in the NHL, but recalls the moments leading up to her first games against her former team.

“I remember last year when we faced them, I was telling myself on the bus, ‘Just force on your game, it’s not a big deal.’…I didn’t really let it affect me, I just told myself to play my game,” says Green. “The team I am a part of now is the most important team I have been a part of, and my focus wasn’t on them. I transferred it to me and my teammates and we try to be successful together.”

Despite being a member of the Rams since 2015, it was only last season that Green began suiting up for Ryerson after red-shirting upon her arrival at Ryerson.

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She had a fantastic year academically, she was unbelievably committed to the hockey team without ever even playing in a game because she was not eligible yet, That first year, the commitment she showed, really left a lasting impression with me.

Lisa Haley - Ryerson Head Coach

“It’s completely different now,” says Green. “My opponents aren’t really the main thought on my mind, I just go in try to stick to the process, play my role, try to contribute and help my team be successful.”

Team captain Ailish Forfar says the team can look to Green to give them the tough love, and they trust her opinion and leadership as an assistant captain.

Haley attributes Green’s success in the sport to the unique perspective she brings to situations in the game and describes her an analytical thinker.

“I think she just has a great history within her family as well, her grandfather was a really successful hockey player and you can see it in her genes,” says Haley. “She’s a very talented athlete. She’s had to work hard for it. It’s never been an easy road for Krash,…for someone to be able to rebound from the difficult season and academic year that she had in her first year, and be where she is at now is tremendous, it takes a lot of inner strength and determination so I’m very proud.”


Joti_Grewal.png (108 KB)Joti Grewal is a Master of Journalism student at Ryerson University. Her interest in journalism stems from her passion to communicate and connect with people through storytelling. Prior to moving to Toronto, Joti earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. While at UBC, Joti wrote for the campus newspaper The Ubyssey, primarily covering men’s and women’s rugby.