Latest / Rinkside Rundown / Alyssa Regalado: Cornell University, Growth, and the Road to the 2026 PWHL Draft
Transcript
- Speaker 1: think my freshman year was like, okay, well, after my four years, I guess maybe Sweden, if that's an option. If not, I don't know. And so I think now it's hard to put into words how cool and how special it is to have this opportunity. Just kind of letting things go day by day, letting things happen as they would. But obviously with that goal in the back of my mind and still working towards it, doing the little things that I need to do throughout the summer. Speaker 2: you Hello and welcome back to Rinkside Rundown, the podcast that brings you inside the world of women's hockey, one story at a time. I'm your host, Chris Sinclair, and today I'm excited to be joined by friend of the show, Alyssa Regalado, defender and graduate of Cornell University, who is preparing to take the next step in her hockey career with the upcoming PWHL draft. Alyssa, welcome back to the show. How you doing? Speaker 1: I've been good. I feel like I was just on this podcast yesterday, so it's good to be back and chatting with you. Speaker 2: Good. Yes, absolutely. And before we get started, for everyone who is dying to learn and to know more about your junior career, why you chose Cornell, all of those incredible milestones you had before your college years, make sure to check out episode 35 of the show, way, way back to episode 35. I'll have it linked below. So it's nice and easy for you to check out. Because today we are just going to be focused on the college years and what's next. So with that in mind, let's dive in. So I believe if I'm not mistaken, when we last spoke all those episodes ago, you were going into your third year. You had just finished up your second year. So now that you've had time to finish your four years at Cornell, what What did you learn about yourself during that period of time? What are some of the biggest takeaways that you learned both on and off the ice? Speaker 1: think as a whole, especially being at Cornell University, it was kind of learning that I can do hard things. know that might sound cliche, but I think obviously going into an Ivy League school, the biggest question was how are you going to balance academics and hockey and keep up your grades while also keeping up your performance? And I think over time, it kind of learned a habit and a routine on how to build that. But I think my freshman fall, I kind of eased into it pretty well. I think it was just a matter of, we leave Thursday for road trips. So am I getting my assignments done before that? up on the four hour bus ride to Boston or whatever it might be. So I think it was just finding that routine. It was learning when assignments were due. But I think overall just knowing that I can do the hard things and that even if I was piled up with schoolwork and I had practice, I still found a way to get things done and that there was always a way to get it done. You just had to stay focused and keep your mind on it. Speaker 2: So I guess then it begs the question because I know that we talked the last time about that learning that balance of academics and of ⁓ athletics, of course, you've done it. So how did you find that adjustment as your years went on at college? Did you find that you were more easily able to kind of find that routine and to feel comfortable and confident that you were going to be able to complete those assignments, maintain that GPA, of course? but also maintain your great production on the ice. Speaker 1: Yeah, I think going into my freshman year, I unfortunately enrolled in one of the hardest courses in the school. And I think that set me up well because I learned if I could do that, I could do almost anything at this. That helps. I just found that most classes, if it was pre-lecture, post-lecture, you kind of had assignments due Tuesday morning, say, and it was a habit. on Sunday, I knew, okay, if I had worked before Wednesday, I would kind of complete it all on Sunday. And then after that, I can finish on the work later in the week. And I think that kind of helped. especially later in the week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, going into games and knowing that I had those assignments done so that I can focus solely on hockey rather than in the back of my head, knowing how to do on Friday night, it was done on Wednesday. And I think that helped with my performances, making sure my mindset was fully towards the game of hockey and how I was going to prepare for that rather than when the game was going to be over. And if I was going to have an extra hour to work on my assignment. I think being able to, ⁓ Complete that work early in the week and allow my mindset to be just on hockey going into the weekend really helped. Speaker 2: goodness, you must be looking forward to the fact that now you don't have to worry about that balance so much. You can just focus on the, I was going to say the fun stuff, but I know that obviously academics can be fun, but hockey is a lot more fun, I'm sure. Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think everyone talks about your senior spring and how it's supposed to be a breeze and I think I've lived that to the fullest. pretty given myself a pretty easy semester and so I'm enjoying it so far. Speaker 2: Good, good, I'm glad. ⁓ Who maybe had, when you think about your time at Cornell, who were some of those people that had maybe the biggest impact on you? And maybe it was on the ice, maybe it was a teammate, maybe it was your, of course, the coaching staff, or maybe it was someone else entirely. Who were some of those people that were in your corner rooting for you, cheering you on, supporting you through those ups and downs of a collegiate career? Speaker 1: think as a whole, my teammates have been great through my four years. Obviously you have new players coming in and out all the time. think more particular, my classmates have been really good. I think we've developed a very strong relationship amongst the six of us and off the ice, on the ice, we take a lot of classes together. We do a lot of stuff outside the ring together. I think that has helped. And obviously my parents and friends back home have been very supportive, but overall I think on campus, my teammates have been there through everything. Academically, they're there if you have any questions. Hockey, everyone's going through the same thing emotionally. So, and I think having them to talk to and even just sit down afterwards during the week and grabbing a coffee with them, they've been great to kind of support me through everything. And I think the same goes for them. I've always been there to help them as well. Speaker 2: And I'm so glad that you mentioned your teammates because you have, and this goes for a lot of, obviously for a lot of collegiate athletes, you have the opportunity to play alongside and to play under, you will, a number of different leaders, a number of different captains, leadership groups. For you, that was exactly, I'm not going to get into exactly who those people were because some of them. We're going to get into that in just a moment, but overall, when you think about those leadership groups that you have played with, what were some of the things that they taught you about how to show up, how to be your best self, both on and off the ice, those responsibilities? Because even though you didn't carry that letter on your jersey, you were there for for four years, right? So there's always those new people that are coming up and you wanna make sure that you help them in their journey. What were some of those lessons that those captains and those assisting captains taught you along your own journey? Speaker 1: I honestly think it was a matter of it's not going to be done alone and that they, although they were the captains, it was never just them in, not in charge, but we always used everyone around them. And I think obviously last year was tough. had a seven, 11 graduating seniors. ⁓ and three of them were our captains, but it was, everyone kind of works as a class. And if it wasn't, it was as a team. And I think it just, they showed that you can use everyone around you and that you don't have to. do everything by yourself. You can ask for opinions, even if it's from a freshman on what they think about this, how they feel about that. And I think they just really showed that you can use your teammates, you can use your coaches, anyone around you to kind of help you out and that they never isolated themselves as the captaincy. And I think even this year, my class is six and so three were captains and three weren't. And it never really felt like that because all conversations went through the class as a whole and it was kind of based on our four years, how do we want things to happen? How do we want to see things? And I think that has really shown me that I want to use people around me to not only make me better, but helpfully make them better and just be there for them, not just as a teammate, but as a friend. And I think all my captains really showed that it's about those you surround yourself with and not just yourself as an individual. Speaker 2: Well, one of those captains has worked out quite well here in Ottawa. So we are very thankful, very thankful. When we talk about Cornell as a program, seen a lot of success, especially of late three consecutive Ivy league championships, being part of those winning teams, those winning programs, those winning groups. You know, you go through the highs and lows of a season, but to ultimately win and to show that consistency as well. What do you think that taught you about yourself and your place on a team as well? Speaker 1: Well, I think first of all, if you look at our three Ivy League championships over the last three years, they were all complete in different ways. And it just shows you that nothing is going to be the same way and nothing's going to be easy. Everything's going to be a different pathway. And that's because of the different people you have on your team. And so I think my sophomore year, we won it our last weekend. came down to our last Ivy league game and we had to win it to win the championship. And last year we won it like middle end of January. We still had a couple Ivy weekends left. And then this year we ended up winning it on a non-ID weekend because another team ended up losing. And so I think that just shows that kind of each team, each year is going to be different. ⁓ And it's learning how to grow and develop and be able to work towards what that team needs. And I think for me, especially this year with kind of the slump we had throughout late November, January, ⁓ kind of how we were going to get out of that. I think... A lot of players looked up to my class and me as a leader and how to deal with it emotionally, especially when it was a Friday and you had a game Saturday and kind of learning that it was going to be okay and that it's just one loss. I think people kind of had to figure out how to get over that loss, especially with the season before. It was just a matter of taking it game by game, practice by practice. And I think that's kind of what got us out of it is. changing our mentality to one game at a time and working together rather than individually. And so I think that overall has led to our success as program over my four years is just taking it day by day rather than looking at the grand scheme of things because it all happens one step at a time. Speaker 2: So we have the opportunity of course to see the great photos from the championship wins and watching the games, the many games that are available on TV. But I wanted to take a moment, especially this year, because you knew that it was ultimately of course going to be your last opportunity ⁓ to bring home that championship. Could you bring us into the locker room? Bring us into this sort of... that space and what were some of the standouts, the specific standout moments from this, from this championship win, again, knowing that you were riding off into the sunset after this year. It feels, I mean, at least for me, I feel like it would be, feel a little bit different this year. Could you bring us into some of those things that we may not have been able to see through the, photos that were on Instagram or through the, you know, whatever, what we saw on TV as well? Speaker 1: So we were actually, it was our last weekend of games and we were at Clarkson and St. Lawrence and we were playing St. Lawrence on the Friday night. And we had done all the math, we'd looked at all the points and we knew that Yale and Princeton played each other this weekend. And we needed Princeton to lose one of their two games in regulation this weekend for us to clinch the Ivy league championship. But obviously we had two bigger games. We wanted to close fourth place, get the first round by, and that meant beating both Clarkson and St. Lawrence. So there was a lot of stuff. in our hands, out of our hands, but obviously our task for that Friday was beating St. Lawrence. And I just remember we were up, ended up tying it late in the third period and St. Lawrence took us to overtime. It was a very tough game against them, always is at that rank. remember my fellow teammate and defenseman, Gracie, wanted an overtime for us and we were all so happy and that put us in such a good position going into Saturday, not just for the league, but for clinching that fourth place position. And I remember after the game, we had a hurt player at the time and we were asking her, like, so did Princeton lose? Like, yay, we won, we won an overtime. It was so exciting. But we're like, who won that game? And nobody knew what had happened because nobody had been on their phones and we're all standing there like, what happened, what happened? And it was probably a good 10, 15 minutes later that our coaches called all the seniors over to their locker room and were like, okay, like here are your bottles of champagne and the banner, let's go run it and celebrate. And so it was kind of at that moment that we realized that we had won the Ivy League. So it was pretty cool. Not only did we win the game, we won the Ivies, ended up beating Clarkson the next day, which clinched us fourth place. And that was our first road sweep since probably the first weekend in November. overall it was... Not just the championship that we won, but it was a very big fourth place clinching weekend against two of our biggest rivals. So was a pretty special weekend. Speaker 2: Yeah. And I can tell that it's still something that lives vividly in your mind because I felt like I was there as you were telling that story. So that's, that's fantastic. ⁓ I want to talk as well about the growth that you've gone through. course, being a four years Ivy league school, there's a lot of growth that happens both on and off the ice. And of course that growth is certainly going to help you in this next stage of your career. But before we get into. maybe some of those biggest moments that you're most proud of, maybe what are some of those, the toughest moments that you've experienced that of course you're proud of, but they were really tough in the moment for you to go through. Do you remember some of those moments that really tested you, that you came out obviously on the other side feeling great, but in the moment it was tough? Speaker 1: There's two in particular that come to mind. ⁓ My sophomore year, we had to go to Colgate for the ECAC Championship and for the regional final. And I think ⁓ we ended up losing the season series against them and they ended up coming first in regular season and we were the fourth seeded team. And so we had to go to Colgate and play them in the first game and we ended up losing and then had to go back home and then realized we had to go back there the following week to play. regional finals. And I think that was a tough mental barrier to overcome because I know every kind of fighting themselves being like, we have to go back again, like, beat us, they just beat us, how are we going to beat them and all that stuff. And I think that was very challenging for people to kind of come over that mental barrier. ⁓ Obviously didn't end up beating them, but they were two very, very close games, they ended up going to the frozen four. And I think that kind of helped us. That was my sophomore year. who under our junior year and get revenge on them, the AC finals and ⁓ in the season two. And so I think that kind of not helped us maybe in that moment, but it prepared us for the group coming the following season, especially since we only graduated three seniors that year. We had a lot of returning players who kind of had that anger and frustration. So we were able to get back at it the following year. And then the second one that comes to mind is this past season as a whole, obviously we're riding that high. From my junior year, there was a lot of high expectations, but it was tough because we lost 11 seniors. We had a lot of new faces, smaller group. And I think it was hard to overcome those losses this year. I think kind of, I touched on it a bit earlier, but being one of the seniors and leaders and having to go through all these three years of highs and lows, it was teaching the underclassmen how to deal with those losses. I think... especially for the freshmen that came in my junior year and the sophomores. It was something they hadn't really had to go through. And so we had a couple of tough losses this year and it was going to happen, but I think it was hard for people to learn how to deal with it and kind of learn from it rather than being angry and mad at it. And I think kind of teaching the underclassmen how to manage that emotionally helped me to think about it in a different way because sometimes I needed to speak it out loud to kind of hear it. because I don't have those seniors telling me to do that. I think communicating with them helped me to learn how to handle it and move on from it, but also use it to build on to the next game. so those are kind of the toughest moments. ⁓ I think I've had to go through was just learning how to deal with those losses, especially those slumps and being better the next game. Speaker 2: And how would, when you, when you think about your game specifically, so on ice, how would you say your, your, because we've talked a lot about like the mental side of the game, which I think is definitely underrated and underappreciated and undervalued aspect of being any sort of athlete, but especially a hockey player, of course. But, but on the ice, how would you say your, game has grown over the, over your time in Speaker 1: I think coming in my freshman year, obviously I see myself as an offensive defenseman and I still do. ⁓ But I think the defensive side of the game, not that it came second, but I didn't really focus on the small things that was going to kind of help me lead to that offense. And so I think over my four years, I really tried to focus in on playing the body down low in the D zone, making that clean, tape to tape pass. And I think that has really helped to not only make my game better in my own zone, but me to get involved in the offense more and get up in the play more because I'm able to keep things clean in the D-zone. And so I think by being able to work on that over my four years and get help from fellow teammates and upperclassmen and coaches that really hone in on those small things has really helped my game grow overall and has made my 200-foot game that much stronger. Speaker 2: I'm wondering too, I'm really curious to know how your relationship with the game has evolved as well, right? I feel like when you're in your, when you're a junior, there's of course, there's, there's always going to be pressure to a degree, but you get to enjoy the game a lot more. And then as the, as your career progresses, I at least perceive there to be more and more pressure, more and more expectations, whether you're putting those on yourself, coaching staff, scouts, you're thinking about what are scouts and, and you know, committing and all those sorts of things. Did you find that you continued to fall in love more and more with the game or were there those moments where you said, where you doubted yourself, where you said, maybe I don't want to play this anymore? Were there those moments and how did your relationship with the game, as I had mentioned earlier, how did your relationship with the game maybe change and evolve throughout your time at? Speaker 1: think I've always seen myself as a student of the game. I love watching it. I love watching the NHL. I love watching the now the PWHL. I love watching the Olympics, world championships. Even if there's stuff in the summer going on, I just like throwing it on the tee when I'm home for spring break. I like going to watch tournaments. And so I think I just love learning from the game. And I think that's something I kind of use to stay focused on things. And I did a lot of video with my coaches on myself and the game. And I think that's really helped me stay in tune with my goals. Rather than getting angry or frustrated at my game prior, which obviously in the moment, that's kind of what you're going to feel and the emotions you're going to have. But in an hour or two, looking back at it and being like, okay, let's rewatch what happened. So it doesn't happen again and learn from and evolve from it. And then later that night I'll put on the PWHL game and be like, okay, oh look, that situation just happened there. Like kind of how did she handle it? And so. By really focusing on learning and being a student of the game has helped me and I think it's not only helped my game, but my IQ and how I see things and how I'm able to read plays has helped. so not only just watching video of myself, but I love watching the game no matter what level. ⁓ I think that's really helped keep focused at my goals. Speaker 2: Well, I feel like this seems like a natural segue into the next chapter, hopeful chapter of your career as well with the PWHL and the PWHL draft coming up, of course. When you think now that you're on the cusp of there being a chance that your name gets called and you get to join the PWHL, you've mentioned being able to watch it. What do you think it's going to mean to you to be able to now call it? Speaker 1: Obviously it's an amazing thing to even think about. It's something that I never thought was even going to be possible. think my freshman year was like, okay, well, after my four years, guess maybe Sweden, if that's an option. If not, I don't know. And so I think now it's hard to put into words how cool and how special it is to have this opportunity. And I think right now it's just taking things day by day. Obviously the draft is not until the midst of summer, but there's not much you can do now. There's not much hockey going on. Obviously it's something I've always dreamed of and something that would be amazing to accomplish, but just kind of letting things go day by day, letting things happen as they would. ⁓ But obviously with that goal in the back of my mind and still working towards it, doing the little things that I need to do throughout the summer. Speaker 2: Yeah, so then I need to ask like, how do you stay in the moment and maybe not think about, okay, maybe I could get what happens if I get drafted there? ⁓ I'd love to get drafted there. What happens if I don't get drafted? Like, how do you stay as the saying goes, where your feet are? How do you do that? Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's honestly, it's really tough, obviously. It's something that's going to be on my mind until the day comes. But I think it's more so just how can I work towards something? How can I make myself better? Not just going to help me with hockey or the PWHL or whatever my future holds, but just myself as a person and making myself feel good. And so I think just trying to focus in on, am I going to go to the gym? What do I want to focus on? And really making that my main priority, obviously with the thought in the back of my mind, I don't think it's going to go away. really trying to just focus on those small things that I can do, even away from the rink and from the sport and just hanging out with friends and doing things because like I said, it's out of my hands right now and it's gonna go how it's gonna go. But just kind of focusing in on how can I make myself better as an athlete, but as a person too. Speaker 2: So you've had the chance to see, and we, we touched on it briefly earlier, but you have had the chance to see teammates make that jump to the PWHL in Rory Gilde, of course, here in Ottawa. ⁓ you've also seen teammates like Katie Chan, maybe take a little bit of a different route, but ultimately end up in the PWHL. When you see that, when you see them making that jump and, and, and, and being successful at the professional level. What does that do for you? Does that add extra fuel to your fire? Does that maybe inspire you? Does that reassure you that you too are also ready to make that jump? Speaker 1: I think so. I think obviously getting to play on the back end with Rory for three years was something special and to learn from her and watch her play not only on the ice, but the work she puts in off the ice constantly, whether that's in the gym or doing extra speed work, working on her explosiveness, getting treatments, recovery, making sure her body's at the best it can be. think even with Katie Chan doing all that extra work, obviously she transferred. from Colgate, but just being able to see her as a player and how hard it works and how bad she wants to win and do the best for her teammates. I think both show that not only are they amazing hockey players and great people, but there's a lot that kind of goes in that they do extra that a lot of people don't see. And just knowing that them putting in all that extra work pays off. It's really special to see. It kind of motivates me that this work will all pay off some way, somehow in the end and just to keep pushing and keep working towards it because you have played with these girls and you have seen them excel and that you know you can play with them and that you've had great experiences with them. And I think it's just a very ⁓ special thing to have been a part of. Speaker 2: Let's take a moment to reflect on your time, your entire time at Cornell and how it's prepared you. How do you feel like the experiences, again, the ups and downs, on ice, off ice that are going to come with being, going through a collegiate career, how has that time, maybe the coaching staff as well, helped to prepare you mentally? and physically for this jump from the collegiate realm to the professional. Speaker 1: As I mentioned, my teammates are a big part of that and the coaches too, our practices are always at the highest level and everyone's always pushing each other on the ice in battle drills, in five-on-five scrimmage-like and even off the ice in the gym, everyone's pushing each other, whether it's conditioning or anything it might be preseason, postseason. I feel like there's always a competitive environment even amongst the coaches. They're always working out with us too and hopping in for that extra sprint or that extra conditioning. showing that there's no separation and that everyone's working together towards the same goal. And I think that allows for that competitive mindset to develop and to translate into your game. And I think by having that mindset to compete and to work hard and that you will be rewarded from that work, it helps with kind of transitioning into whatever comes next and into a professional game hopefully one day. But being in that competitive mindset will help with like a training camp setting or a practice setting where you really need to earn your spot. And I think my teammates and my coaches have really helped for me to build that kind of mindset. So I know I can push myself to that limit. Speaker 2: Okay, we are going to wrap things up here with the final buzzer segment of the show. Okay. This is a fun, rapid fire way to wrap up the conversation. Hopefully I ask zero follow-up questions. That's always my goal. You can take as long as you want. I just won't ask any follow-up questions. So we're going to start as we always do with learning. What is your go-to pregame meal? Speaker 1: Okay. The night before, feel like a Thursday. If we play on a Friday throughout my college career, first games are always on a Friday. But Thursday night, I would try to get a frozen meat sauce from my mom that I'd keep in the freezer and warm it up and have some spaghetti. So that was definitely, if I had that option, that would always be my night before option. Evening game, ⁓ love just some rice and some salmon. ⁓ Salmon's probably one of my favorite things. Definitely that if it's an earlier game, I don't mind a brunch with some eggs. But yeah, usually just very simple rice, chicken, eggs, very simple plain foods. I'm good with any of that. And obviously, of course, a coffee. Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, course, fuel. What is one song or artist that gets you dialed in and ready on game day? Speaker 1: I'm a big EDM fan, like John Summit, Fischer, all those kind of artists really get me fired up. So honestly, any song by them, ⁓ I'll be good. ⁓ Just all that kind of music gets me going. Speaker 2: I'm nodding as if I know what any of that meant, ⁓ but I don't. But I have some homework now. What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you? Speaker 1: ⁓ I feel like this is a question I always struggle with. Speaker 2: Same. That's why it's easy for me to ask it. I don't know if I'd have an answer. Speaker 1: I feel like the answer I always come back to is that I know how to juggle. I feel like that's probably very common amongst athletes, but when talking to my teammates, there's not many that know how to juggle. So I've kind of just stuck with that one. My freshman year, I kind of learned how to, and now it's just something to distract myself when I get bored or I don't want to study any longer. I just grab whatever's near me and just start juggling. Speaker 2: Wow. And here I thought that might be part of your game day routine, but here you are now just want to don't want to study. I'm juggling. that's fair. That's fair. Yeah. Um, last one for you. If you could go back and give yourself, your younger self, some advice, perspective on the journey ahead. What do you think you would tell her? Speaker 1: Probably to take in every little moment. Obviously you love the games and that's what you always look forward to. And sometimes you dread the practices or you dread the extra work because you know it's going to be hard. But I think just enjoying those moments because looking back at it, I would want to do it all again. ⁓ Even if it's the tournaments and you're having lunch with your teammates in between, feels like it's been forever since I had a tournament. And just taking in every single moment, doing that extra 10 minutes at the end of practice to shoot. five pucks, 10 pucks. Just being right in the moment like we talked about, like being where your are. I think even outside of the game, just taking each day, living in the present ⁓ because it all goes by really fast. Very, very fast. But yeah, I just think enjoying every little moment and not being afraid to try new things and push outside your comfort zone. Speaker 2: All right, and that wraps up the final buzzer segment of the show and the final segment of today's episode. Alyssa, thank you so much for coming back on the show. Again, friend of the show, make sure to check out episode 35 to learn more about her journey to this point, of course. But I cannot wait to cheer you on on draft night. Can't wait to see you succeed as you continue to do. now in the PWHL. Good luck in the upcoming draft. Good luck as your career continues and I will be cheering you on every step of the way. Thanks so much for joining the show. Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Speaker 2: And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, leave a review and share it with your fellow hockey fans. Your support helps me to continue bringing you stories just like this one from around the world of women's hockey. I'm Chris Sinclair. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll catch you next time on Rinkside Rundown.