Taya Currie Becomes 1st Female Player to Be Picked in OHL Draft

The Sarnia Sting selected goaltender Taya Currie with the 267th pick in the 2021 Ontario Hockey League draft Saturday, making the 16-year-old the first female player ever picked in the Priority Selection.

"It'd be pretty crazy," Currie said about potentially getting drafted.

"[It] would be more than a dream come true. Honestly, if any team [drafts me, it] doesn't matter. I don't care how high up I go or low, it'd be amazing just to get drafted."

The Parkhill, Ontario, native is a star for the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs. Steven Ellis of the Hockey News spoke to an OHL scout who praised Currie's quickness. 

"She's a small goalie, so she needs to use her reflexes more to compensate, and it works," the scout said. "She's a true battler that never gives up on a play. Hard to beat her on a breakaway."

In her team bio, Currie listed Shannon Szabados and Manon Rheaume as two players she admires. Szabados was the first woman to suit up in the Western Hockey League, while Rheaume was the Tampa Bay Lightning's goaltender for a preseason game in each of 1992 and 1993—the first woman to play in the NHL.

The pro game might have to wait for Currie, though. Ellis noted she hasn't closed the door on joining an NCAA program, which would be off the table if she first played for the Sting or another OHL team.