Q&A with Allie Thunstrom
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Since 2019, NHeLas has also been producing content on women’s hockey. The sport is changing and, to follow this process, we must know the characters behind it.
That is why on this day we are very excited to announce a very special partnership the site has recently forged with the NWHL. (Yes, you’re reading this right!)
Supported by representatives of the National Women’s Hockey League, we will interview players about their experiences with the sport and what it means to be a woman in hockey.
These interviews will be part of Women’s Hockey Column on our website, a project that has been going on for months and built through articles already available on the website (in Portuguese), in order to bring you the best content on the sport, news about the NWHL, the importance of women’s hockey and more!
In this article, the inaugurating piece of our partnership with the NWHL, we interviewed the forward Allie Thunstrom of the Minnesota Whitecaps.
She is co-MVP of the 2019-20 season, Isobel Cup winner and Four Nations Cup medalist with the American national team.
Who is Allie Thunstrom?
Allie Thunstrom’s career was marked by multi-sportsmanship. Born in Maplewood, Minnesota, USA, Allie began her career in hockey when she was still in high school at North St. Paul High.
Back then she collected records scoring 228 goals, 122 assists and 350 points. Those numbers resulted in the achievement of the Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award in 2006. Thunstrom also won awards in soccer and softball during her high school years.
However, the records don’t stop there.
While at Boston College, Allie had not only a hockey scholarship, but she also competed in softball. In four college seasons, from 2006-07, she took part in 141 games, scoring 86 goals, 53 assists and 139 points, with a 22 goals effort in her last season. Allie also won the Hockey East All Star three times.
In 2010, the player took part in the Four Nations Cup, conquering a silver medal as part of the US National Team. In the same year Thunstrom signed her first contract with the Whitecaps, her team to this day.
However, the Minnesota team remained an independent one for many years, joining the NWHL only in 2018. In its first season the Whitecaps debuted with a bang, winning their first Isobel Cup.
In 2012, Allie decided to try out for a new sport. Hence, the athlete took to training speed skating, even taking part in several competitions. During that period she had to adapt to a new way of sliding through the ice.
Her return to competitive hockey with the US National Team was during the 2015 Four Nations Cup, where she won gold.
Recently the player renewed her contract for her third season with the Whitecaps. She currently divides her time between the ice and her career as a field product specialist at the company Ergodyne.
For many years you have also had a career as a speedskater. How did you get into the sport?
In a unique, roundabout way! I still had a year of eligibility left for college softball at Boston College when I made the U.S. National Team in hockey for the first time. As a result, I ended up having to leave school to train full-time for hockey. Then I ended up getting cut from the National Team in January or February and I was kind of lost. I didn’t have hockey anymore and I was missing softball. Keep in mind, this was still a few years before the start of the NWHL.
So I was trying to figure out what to do and my mom suggested trying speedskating. So we found a “Try Speedskating” clinic nearby and I went on a random Tuesday night. From there, the gentleman who taught the club encouraged me to try it for real. So I ended up joining a club in Minnesota and the rest is kind of history. It was a long road to being able to compete. It’s a very different stride and very different technique. So as much as I hoped it would be an easy transition, it was far from it.
How does speedskating compare to hockey?
It’s incredibly different. Probably the biggest and most obvious difference is the team vs individual part. In hockey, you are part of a puzzle, trying to put all the right pieces together to win games. In speedskating, it’s just you. There are no other pieces you have to think about or interface with. In hockey, you play for your teammates and the greater good of the team, but in speedskating your results don’t really affect anyone else other than you. Other than that, the technique and skill is very different. In hockey, quick bursts and agility are equally, if not more important, than maximum speed. In speedskating it’s all about stride efficiency and max speed. It doesn’t matter how quick you are off the line if you don’t skate an efficient, and fast, lap. Some of the fastest speedskaters move their legs the slowest – but the amount of power generated in each stroke is intense.
Do you still practice speed skating even after joining the Whitecaps?
Not very often. Every now and then if I have some free time I might hit the ice with my former speedskating coaches and teammates but I’m certainly not training for it. It utilizes different muscles, so jumping back and forth isn’t as seamless as it would appear. I have a pretty intense schedule as it is and I want to make sure I am at my best for our games so I try not to do anything that would interfere with my ability to play.
You recently won the 2020 NWHL Foundation Award. What is it like to be part of this hockey program and to visit schools? How do you feel being a role model for young athletes that want to pursue a career in the sport?
This is probably one of my favorite parts of playing professional hockey for the Whitecaps. Being able to connect with young kids and be a role model is a really amazing experience and something I don’t take lightly. I want to show kids that it’s important to have dreams and show them how to work towards them. It’s so important to also understand that your dreams can change along the way, and sometimes you end up somewhere you never thought possible – and that’s okay too. I haven’t had the smoothest ride to get to where I am today and I wouldn’t change that for the world. If my experiences can help someone else see the world differently and encourage them to keep trying, then it’s worth every second.
It’s also incredibly important because when I was younger, my dreams were not “reality” because there was no professional women’s hockey. There was minimal college hockey, and no Olympic hockey until 1998 (when I was 10). Plenty of people told me to set my sights on something more realistic – something that was within reach. While I understand why, I want to do the opposite and encourage every young girl and boy to fight for their dreams and never give up. Just because you can’t see it right now, doesn’t mean it won’t be there in the future. And even if you end up on a different path in the future, the journey will have been worth every step.
You’ve been to the NWHL All-Star Weekend in both of your seasons in the league. Can you tell us about being part of these events and recently winning the Fastest Skater competition during the All-Star Skills Challenge?
Being selected as an All-Star has been an absolute honor and a very humbling experience. To be able to play with and against the best in the league is definitely an incredible experience. You gain so much respect for these players – like Jillian Dempsey, McKenna Brand, Kaleigh Fratkin, Madson Packer, Taylor Accursi, Marie-Jo Pelletier, Shannon Doyle, Rebecca Morse, Kate Leary, Kiira Dosdall-Arena, and the list goes on. After you battle against them so much, it’s really fun to get to play with them and get to know them off the ice. We’re all super competitive but All-Star Weekend is always so much more than just the game and skills competition. It brings out the best in everyone and it’s a really great time.
With the Isobel Cup Final cancelled, you and the Whitecaps remain the reigning champions of the NWHL. Could you describe what it was like winning in your first season in the league and being nominated this season’s MVP?
It’s been an absolute whirlwind couple of years playing on the Whitecaps in the NWHL. I have been part of the Whitecaps since I graduated in 2010 when we were part of the WWHL. That league folded and we were not invited to join the CWHL. So for the better part of a decade, we were playing exhibition games against college teams and a few CWHL or NWHL opponents. Then we finally got to be part of the league last season, which was so much more than I ever expected and was so special just because of the road we had taken to get there. Then to win the Isobel Cup at the end, it was really a storybook ending.
The immense joy and support that we got from the entire State of Minnesota and our fans was what really propelled our success in year one. We obviously had a tremendously talented roster but the journey to get to the NWHL and finally getting to be part of a professional league was just so special. It’s hard to describe what it felt like getting to play and it took a little bit of pressure off because we were so genuinely excited to have the opportunity that anything beyond that was just icing on the cake. I remember walking onto the ice for our very first home game and it was sold out and LOUD. I got a little teary-eyed. And then it continued the whole season…just incredible.
This season was a little different. We weren’t the new kids on the block anymore and we knew we had a reputation to uphold. There were expectations, and we weren’t just happy to be there anymore. We definitely took some bumps along the way in finding our stride. We started out the year with a 9-2 win, just to follow it up a day later with an overtime loss. That trend continued into December, but then we banded together and figured out the team we wanted and knew we could be. And from there it was fun. Really, really fun. We found our game and we played it pretty well. To be named a Co-MVP is really a testament to our entire team finding that stride. We were clicking and good things were happening. It was a culmination of all the pieces coming together.
My linemates, Jonna Curtis and Meaghan Pezon deserved that accolade just as much as I did. And of course our defense and Amanda Leveille. We don’t win games without their stellar play. While considered an individual honor, it really is a team award and one I happily share with every player on our roster.
How do you find balance between being a professional hockey player and your life off the ice?
I love being busy and on the go, so for me, it has never been too much of an issue. I do have a job that requires a bit of travel, but I am usually able to schedule my trips around team obligations. I am also able to lean on my speedskating background to stay on top of workouts when I am on my own.
I also am incredibly fortunate to have an employer that not only supports me, but encourages me to pursue my athletic dreams and goals. My colleagues come to games and follow our season. I work as a field product specialist for a manufacturer of safety and industrial PPE, Ergodyne. So I spend a lot of my time on jobsites and with customers helping them mitigate their safety hazards and risks. I definitely love what I do, so it’s really awesome to be able to pursue both of my passions and have support on both sides.
We are aware that the women’s hockey world is not easy. How do you see the sport’s growth currently?
There is a lot of great growth and exposure right now. The biggest thing for women’s hockey and women’s sports in general is the visibility and right now, there are a lot of eyes on our sport. That is a good thing. The number of people that know about our game and the NWHL is growing significantly. This season we were able to sell out games in Boston and Minnesota, and there was a huge crowd at a unique outdoor game in Buffalo. On Twitch we surpassed 8 million views. That was huge, exceeding our expectations. It’s been an exciting year to see how the Twitch channel has really opened up access to the league and the number of new fans we have. The NWHL Open Ice weekly talk show on Twitch was also a big hit.
Our sponsorships over the last year were the most in league history by far, and players benefit from a 50-50 split of revenue from league partnerships. The Boston Pride and the Toronto Six were acquired by individual owners, and I know more teams will be sold in the future. That’s massive for our league and for women’s hockey. It’s just been really fun to be part of it.
These are very unusual times for all of us. How was your routine affected particularly in training and conditioning, and how have you been dealing with it?
For everyone, this pandemic has been difficult emotionally and physically. I could never compare it to the tragedies and what many others have gone through. Since you’re asking about my personal routine, I’ll talk about that.
In a matter of days, like everyone else, I went from having a pretty standard day of going to work, hitting the gym or getting on the ice to not being able to really leave the house. It’s been difficult to maintain the same level of fitness since there is no access to ice and my gym ‘equipment’ is very limited. All I have is one set of 45-pound dumbbells! But I have been doing the best I can with what I’ve got. I run, inline skate, and bike as much as I can. I have definitely decided that I need to have a home gym in the future!
I definitely miss being on the ice competing with my teammates, but I also understand the health crisis and want to continue to do my part to protect my neighbors, loved ones, friends, and everyone around me. So while it is definitely a bit lonelier than I am used to, I’m thankful for virtual platforms that allow us to stay connected and keep in touch. It won’t be like this forever, so we have to make the most of it and take care of each other.
Photo: Michele Jay/NWHL