Having watched her older brother play hockey, Whitney Padgett took to the sport at the tender age of 5. The 14-year-old freshman at Maple Grove most recently performed as one of the U-17 West Coast Selects, an elite USA/Canada team that competed in the World Selects Invitational Hockey Tournament hosted in Italy.
“I thought it was an honor to be on the team,” Padgett says, noting they went on to win the championship game against the Great Lakes Selects with a score of 3-2. As goaltender, she was named “player of the game”; throughout the tournament she gave up only four goals in six games, which included two shutouts. For Padgett it was a “wonderful” experience to be in Europe for the first time.
Last year she played on the varsity team for Maple Grove Senior High, but her aspirations do not end there. Padgett hopes to play Division 1 hockey in Mankato or Bemidji for college and one day be a part of the USA Olympic team
