The Buffalo Beauts have announced the signing of talented goal scorer Claudia Kepler to their roster for the remainder of the 2021-22 Premier Hockey Federation season. Kepler – a winger – has been able to produce everywhere that she has played, including NCAA Division I, Sweden’s SDHL, and Russia’s ЖХЛ. In addition to playing for the Beauts, she is also an assistant coach for Syracuse University’s women’s hockey team. Kepler is in her first season behind the Syracuse bench.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to play for the Buffalo Beauts organization and I am excited to continue to meet more new people in the state of New York,” said Kepler. “As a player I look forward to bringing a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and hockey creativity for the organization. The opportunity to play and enjoy working alongside great people is why I signed with the Beauts, and I can’t wait to start playing in the city of Buffalo. Go Beauts!”
Kepler played the first three seasons of her collegiate career with Ohio State University before transferring to the University of Wisconsin to play her senior season. She achieved double digits in goals in each of her four NCAA seasons. Her finest output came at Wisconsin when she scored 22 goals in 38 games and served as a team captain for the Badgers. At the completion of her collegiate career, Kepler had compiled 60 goals, 32 assists, and 92 points in 145 NCAA games.
“Claudia is a player whom our organization has been familiar with for quite some time,” said Beauts GM Nate Oliver. “She is a very talented goal scorer and has played with and against the very best players in the world. Claudia is also a proven champion as evidenced by her time in Russia with KRS. She is very potent around the net, and adds tremendous character to the locker room. Just a very positive, upbeat individual who loves to win and wills her team to do so.”
Kepler turned pro upon the completion of her collegiate career. The Verona, Wisconsin native signed with HV71 in Sweden’s SDHL for the 2018-19 season. There she finished tied for second on the team in goals (14-13-27 in 35 games) alongside the legendary Riikka Sallinen. Kepler would average a point per game in the postseason with a goal and three assists in four games for the team.
She moved to China in 2019-20 where she played for KRS Vanke Rays Shenzhen in Russia’s women’s professional hockey league, the ЖХЛ. Kepler continued her scoring prowess going 8-9-17 in 24 games and helped lead KRS to the championship over Ufa Agidel.
She is prepared to bring a great deal of drive and determination to the Beauts lineup.
“I would characterize myself as a power forward,” Kepler said. “I always pride myself on doing the little things first and work hard in the battle areas of the ice. At the same time, I am also passionate about skill development and hockey creativity within the game. I love working on different ways to be more efficient with my skills, and different ways to be more creative with my decision making.”
