After suiting up for five straight years with local boys “AAA” teams culminating with the Sudbury U16 AAA Wolves in 202023-2024, goaltender Kalia Pharand knew that an adjustment awaited her as she finally made the move to girls hockey.

Now in her second year with the Mississauga Jr Hurricanes of the OWHL U22 Elite, Pharand has transitioned just fine, thank you very much.

Earlier this month, the northern multi-sport athlete was named to Team Ontario – Red (essentially the provincial “A” team) that will compete at the U18 Women’s National Championships in Newfoundland from November 2nd to November 8th.

For as much as it’s long been acknowledged that competing at the highest level of boys minor hockey will expose female netminders to ultra-quick puck movement and shots with a heavy pace, the simple truth is that puck-stoppers making the move to the all-girls game often struggle with their timing.

In many ways, they are simply reacting too quickly to the play happening in front of them.

Always a student of the game, Pharand contends that the nuances run even deeper than that.

“In terms of just reading the play, it was very, very different,” said the 17 year-old who has already committed to the prestigious Clarkson Golden Knights, currently ranked eighth in the NCAA Division I field of teams. “Girls tend to hold on to the puck more and pass the puck a lot more than shooting.”

“With guys, when they get an opportunity, they will shoot.”

Thankfully, Kalia Pharand is blessed with more than her fair share of natural athleticism. In August of 2024, the still high-schooler (attending E.S.C. l’Horizon, at the time) completed the Beaton Classic solo race, posting a time just a hair under three hours.

Not only did she also medal at the city nordic ski championships in Sudbury, but Pharand also led the Aigles girls hockey team in scoring – opting to play out in her more recreational setting of SDSSAA hockey in the same year she was tending the nets for the U16 AAA Wolves in their OHL draft year.

All in all, there wasn’t a whole lot of concern that the younger sister of Sudbury Wolves’ overage forward Alex Pharand could excel in girls hockey - as soon as she adjusted to a different looking game.

“I think that with a year of girls hockey under my belt now, I have a lot of confidence – and my team helps with that,” said Pharand. “I had a really good mentor, my goalie partner last year (Taylor Belchetz – older sister to OHL star Ethan Belchetz). I definitely gained confidence and calmness in my game.”

Heading into the OWHA (Ontario Women’s Hockey Association) talent identification sessions a few months back, Pharand was feeling good about her chances – though the reality of not having played within the OWHA system prior to last year might not make her quite as well-known a commodity.

“Going into the summer ID camp, I thought I had a really good chance of making Team Blue (Ontario “B” team),” she said. “As a first time goaltender at camp, I thought they would take girls who were already in the OWHA program. When I got the email that I made Team Ontario Red, it definietly shocked me.”

That same sense of shock likely was not felt by Mississauga head coach Darcy Breakey, who also will be serving as assistant coach with Team Red, bring to four the number of Hurricanes connections on the team (defenceman Keira Owen and forward Sarah Staley were also named to the squad).

“The people around me were very supportive,” said Pharand. “They thought I had a chance for (Team) Red.”

Overall, the grade 12 student at Lorne Park Secondary School in Mississauga was feeling good about her performance when the best of the best assembled in Nottawasaga in July. “I thought I played the puck well and communicated well – and those are things that the OWHA really looks for with their goalies,” said Pharand.

“For the most part, I have a solid base. Little details are what I need to work on.”

This upcoming competition will certainly provide a chance to do just that – and a whole lot more as Pharand continues to ready herself for NCAA play next September. “This is a first for me,” she said. “I’ve never been to a national championship before. I want to prove that I am capable at that level, that I can compete with the best girls in the country.”

That would stand as the latest testament to the fact that Kalia Pharand has made the move from elite boys to top end girls hockey with very few hiccups at all – just as most who know her well, back home, expected.