Ste. Anne product taken 42nd overall by Toronto at 2024 pwhl draft
Three months ago, Ste. Anne's Raygan Kirk led the Ohio State Buckeyes to their third-straight National Championship appearance and was perfect, stopping all 27 shots she faced in the 1-0 win over Wisconsin in the title game. Her stellar performance helped Ohio State win its second Championship in the past three seasons.
The 23-year-old backstop then turned her attention to the upcoming PWHL Draft.
In her final draft-eligible season, Kirk shined between the pipes. She owned an outstanding 22-2-0 record, a 1.05 goals-against average, a .945 save percentage and a phenomenal 10 shutouts (combined between the regular season and playoffs).
Pre-draft rankings had the former Eastman Selects standout all over the board. The Athletic had Kirk ranked 24th overall and the No. 2 netminder in the draft, while The Hockey News ranked her as the third-best goaltender and the 55th overall prospect, which would have seen her go undrafted.
Based on her outstanding senior season, it seemed like a lock for Kirk to be selected at Monday’s draft, but she had to wait for the very last pick to hear her name called by PWHL Toronto.
Before going to college, Kirk won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship, starting all four games and earning MVP of the tournament. She also became the youngest player ever to be invited to a Team Canada Summer Showcase camp (2019).
But the road to the 42nd overall pick wasn’t only national championships and gold medals. Back in 2021, the place she started her NCAA career folded its women's and men’s hockey teams.
In her two years at Robert Morris University, Kirk posted a combined 23-13-2 record and seven shutouts. She really started to break through with a .939 save percentage in her sophomore season which was 11th best among Division I netminders in 2020-21.
After finding a new home at Ohio State, Kirk went from being a top goaltender in the NCAA to sitting on the bench behind Amanda Thiele and Andrea Braendli. Kirk started a combined 15 games in her first two years with the Buckeyes, remaining behind both Thiele and Braendli which saw Ohio State go to back-to-back National Championships (one win, one loss).
But this past season it was a whole different story; Kirk stole the starting role from Thiele and she never looked back.
With four postseason shutouts and a .942 postseason save percentage, Kirk capped off her college career by earning the Women’s Frozen Four MVP - an award that has been won by a goaltender just nine times in its 24-year history - and a place on the all-tournament team.
Kirk will now head one province east from her hometown, where she will join fellow Manitoba product, good friend and PWHL Toronto star netminder Kristen Campbell.
And once again the road will not be easy for Kirk, as she will likely have to battle Erica Howe and Carly Jackson for a backup role behind one of the PWHL’s very best puck stoppers.
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