Gabie Figueroa
Gabriella "Gabie" Figueroa (born February 21, 1992)[1] is an American professional ice hockey player for the New York Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).
Gabie Figueroa | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Branchburg, New Jersey, USA | February 21, 1992||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
Weight | 146 lb (66 kg; 10 st 6 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
NWHL team | New York Riveters | ||
Playing career | 2015–present |
Playing career
Figueroa was originally a defenseman.[2] She first played hockey when she was a 9-year-old.[3][4] She got into the sport because a bunch of her brother's friends from school were playing.[5] Before every game, she tapes her own stick. She believes doing so increases her puck control.[3]
Youth
She played youth hockey for a number of clubs including Bridgewater Bears, Princeton Tiger Lilies, New Jersey Colonials and Connecticut Polar Bears and The Lawrenceville School.[6] Playing for Lawrenceville, she was named an all state player three times.[4] As a youth player, she sometimes played on all girls teams and mixed gender teams at the same time.[5]
Collegiate
Figueroa attended college at Princeton University, where she played for the women's ice hockey team.[2][7] Her senior season in 2013-2014 finished with 13 points on 12 assists and a goal.[6] After finishing her career at Princeton, she initially believed her playing days were over because of the lack of opportunities for women to play after college.[3]
NWHL
On August 15, 2015, Figueroa joined the New York Riveters for the inaugural 2015/16 NWHL season.[8][2][7][3][9][10] Because of salary cap restraints, most players needed to work other jobs including Figueroa who made the league minimum of $10,000. As a result, she only trained with the team two times a week with games played on Sunday.[2][7][3] When not training, she worked as a project engineer for Gilbane Building Company.[2][3] That season, she played in all 18 regular season games for the team, along with making post-season appearances.[11] She also played in the first game ever played in the league when the Riveters took on the Connecticut Whales.[12] She also scored the team's first ever goal.[13]
In 2016, she participated in the NWHL Free Agent Camp, watched by general managers from several teams in the league. She was one of only three defenders playing for her team in a scrimmage match.[14][15] In September 2016, it was announced that Figueroa would join the practice squad for the New York Riveters in their 2016/17 season.[16][11] Playing for the Riveters in 2017, injuries to other players meant she sometimes was playing as a forward. By mid-season, she had scored three times for her team.[17]
National team
She played for the United States women's u-18 national ice hockey team.[3] With the team for the 2010 IIHF U-18 World Championship, she won a silver medal.[6][4]
Coaching
In 2016, she was involved with running a USA Hockey ADM clinic.[4]
Personal
Originally from Branchburg, New Jersey,[7] Figueroa attended college at Princeton University. Figueroa graduated from Princeton in 2014 with a degree in structural engineering.[2][7][3]
References
- "Gabie Figueroa - Player Profile - Ice Hockey". Eurosport. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- Desai, Priya (June 5, 2016). "For Riveters' Gabie Figueroa, hockey is more than a game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- "What It's Like To Be One Of The First Pro Female Hockey Players In The U.S." MTV News. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- "Ice Hockey: New Jersey Devils, USA Hockey host first Girls Youth Hockey ADM clinic in Newark". NJ.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- editor. "Feminism Scores a Hat Trick with Women's Hockey League | Fordham Observer". www.fordhamobserver.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Editor, Justin Feil, Assistant Sports. "PRINCETON: Figueroa's passion is following her to work". CentralJersey.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Kreda, Allan (February 20, 2016). "For Players in a New Women's League, a Rink Isn't the Only Office". The New York Times. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- Lighthouse Hockey (August 15, 2015). "Riveters sign defenseman Gabie Figueroa". SB Nation. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- "NWHL Three Stars: Pride put up 7 goals on Riveters; Power play big for Whale". Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- "The Riveters' Lack of Puck Luck Saves the Whale, 3-1". Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- "NWHL: New York Riveters sign five practice players - Excelle Sports". Excelle Sports. September 3, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- Pendrys, David F. (October 16, 2015). "Connecticut Whale beat New York Riveters in first-ever NWHL game". SportzEdge. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- "Everything You Need to Know About the Boston Pride's Home Opener". Boston Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- "NWHL Free Agent Camp Notebook". The Victory Press. June 14, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- "MyWSports | Growing The Games Together". MyWSports | Growing The Games Together. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- Nelson, Dustin L. (September 3, 2016). "New York Riveters Announce Practice Squad Players". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- "Riveters Hope New Signing Lauren Wash Will Spark Third Line". www.fanragsports.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com