Germany's Sara Seiler a Hometown Hero at IIHF Women's Worlds in Ottawa

Of all the competitors at the 2013 IIHF Women’s Worlds, none has the potential to capture the hearts and minds of local hockey fans as much as Sara Seiler. An emotional fan favourite, the German skater makes her second home in Ottawa, the host city of the Women’s Worlds.

Having appeared in over 100 international contests for her native Germany, the spotlight is ready to shine on a remarkable athlete that Ottawa hockey fans have come to know as a great team player. During her storied career in the capital city of Canada, Seiler has dazzled fans at various levels of the game.

Seiler came to Ottawa after competing at the 2006 Torino Winter Games with her native Germany. The reason that Ottawa would become her second hometown is that she was signed by the Ottawa Raiders of the now defunct National Women’s Hockey League. Despite a last-place finish in the 2006-07 NWHL season, the Raiders would emerge as the first team that she would compete for in the nation’s capital.

In looking to enhance her education, Seiler would enrol at Carleton University. While a student there, she would compete with the varsity hockey team, which was part of Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Having finished her five-year career by serving as the captain of the Carleton Ravens, she was the first European in the history of the program to have the captaincy bestowed upon her.

Playing for head coach Shelley Coolidge, a former employee with Hockey Canada, Seiler could not have asked for a better mentor. Her final season with the Ravens came during the 2011-12 CIS campaign. She would log 15 points on the strength of 11 assists and four goals.

During the 20-game season, she would only log four penalty minutes; a symbol of her clean play. Her finest performance in that final season came on October 16, 2011 when she logged three points (including a power play goal) in a 3-2 win versus the Concordia Stingers.

While the 2013 Women’s Worlds are not her first on Canadian soil (she participated with Germany at the 2004 Women’s Worlds in Nova Scotia), her second turn representing Germany on home soil will be a much more treasured experience.

Although Germany is not a favourite to finish in the medal round at this year’s Women’s Worlds, Seiler has already won. With a strong contingent of former teammates and the hometown crowd supporting her, the experience will be one that provides a lifetime of memories for her.