BY MIKE BURSE – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
The Montreal Stars had an abundance of talent in training camp at the goaltending position. Between Kim St. Pierre (Olympic gold medalist and Clarkson Cup Champion), Jenny Lavigne (Clarkson Cup Champion), Charline Labonte (Olympic gold medalist) and Florence Schelling (World Championship bronze medalist) a great goaltender was bound to find themselves on the outside looking in.
Unfortunately for Schelling she ended up being the odd woman out in the Montreal goal crease numbers game. It was reported that Schelling would be an emergency backup for the Stars, but that would have be an unfortunate waste of her talents.
Yesterday it was announced that Schelling would be moving to the Brampton Hockey Club where she will battle for playing time with incumbent starter Liz Knox.
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Montreal Stars head coach Patrick Rankine had these words to say about Florence Schelling: “I firmly believe that Florence has all the qualities necessary for a successful career in the CWHL. In addition, I believe she can be a number one goalie from this season. Finally, I must admit she will definitely help Brampton this season.”
Brampton Hockey Club head coach Rick Traugott said “we are very excited to add a goaltender with the experience and ability of Florence. She adds to our depth immediately. We will look for our goalies to compete well throughout the season. I also believe that Florence will contribute to the character of the team. She will be a great addition to our dressing room.”
Florence Schelling is still young at age 23 but she has accumulated a tremendous amount of experience to this point in her Hockey career. She has been a member of the Swiss National Women’s Hockey team since the age of 16 (2005). Prior becoming a member of the National team she competed for the ZSC Lions in Switzerland from 2003-2005.
Schelling led her team at the 2006 Olympic games, at the young age of 17, to a seventh place finish. In those Olympics she posted great numbers of 0.939 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average.
She eventually led the Swiss to their first medal at the Women’s World Hockey Championships in 2012, ending the tournament with a bronze medal hanging from their necks.
From the 2008-2009 season to the 2011-2012 season Schelling was a member Northeastern Huskies. During her time playing NCAA hockey she was also a player in the first ever outdoor women’s game. This game was played at Fenway Park in Boston. Schelling was also named the best goaltender in the NCAA Hockey East division in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Her new goaltending partner Liz Knox is one year older, aged 24, and played her University hockey in the CIS with the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks. In 2010 she was named the CIS player of the year. She also competed in the 2011 IIHF Eight Nations Tournament for Team Canada winning a gold medal.
It is clear that Brampton’s goaltending is much improved with the addition of Florence Schelling. She will most definitely benefit from Liz Knox’s CWHL experience last season. While Brampton’s goaltending may not have quite the depth as Montreal and Boston, one could argue that they slide in at third in the league now.
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