REDS Recruit Defender Keenan
(FREDERICTON, NB) Sitting atop the Atlantic University Sport standings early in the 2021-22 season, the UNB REDS aren’t wasting time on preparing for the 2022-23 season.
The REDS are naming heralded defender Mackenzie Keenan as the second member of their recruiting class of 2022.
“We’re thrilled to add Mackenzie to our REDS family,” said REDS head coach Sarah Hilworth. “She’s going to be a great addition here at UNB.”
The 17-year-old Keenan has signed a U SPORTS Letter and will join the REDS ahead of the 2022-23 season.
She joins Jorja Nystrom, of Edmonton, in the class of 2022. Nystrom committed to UNB in January.
“I chose UNB because of the family-like feel surrounding the hockey program and the school,” said Keenan. “After visiting, I knew it was the right fit for me.”
Currently in her Grade 12 year at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, in Barrie, Ontario, Keenan is a member of the Central York Panthers, of Ontario’s Provincial Women’s Hockey League.
“Mackenzie comes from a hockey family and we know that she’ll excel with our program,” said Hilworth. “She’s an intelligent defender who will make a mark on our blue line right away. She is strong in her own zone, and her great hockey sense allows her to be effective on the ice. She has good mobility and plays a heads-up game that we’re excited to add to our blue line corps.”
Keenan’s pedigree is impressive.
Her grandfather, Larry, a left winger, played 234 games in the National Hockey League with Toronto, St. Louis, Buffalo and Philadelphia.
Her father, Cory, a defenceman, played three seasons for the Kitchener Rangers, of the Ontario Hockey League, during the late 1980s. He was selected in the 6th round of the 1990 NHL draft by the Hartford Whalers before a professional career in Europe.
And her brother, Larry, is a member of the U16 team at Culver Military Academy, a prep school in Indiana.
“I was looking for a hockey program that would push me athletically while supporting me academically, and that was exactly what I found at UNB,” said Keenan. “I’m excited to learn from coaches who’ve gone through university hockey themselves, and who’ve had success at it. I’m looking forward to getting started with the REDS.”
Keenan will study Chemical Engineering while attending UNB.