Brianna Laing, the sister of Denna Laing, signed a contract for the 2017-18 season with the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League on Monday.
Brianna, a goaltender, attended Harvard University and graduated last month with a degree in Integrative Biology. She went 22-8-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .935 save percentage over four seasons.
Denna Laing is the Princeton University and NWHL forward who sustained a severe spinal cord injury while playing for the Pride in the Women’s Winter Classic on Dec. 31, 2015. In honor of Denna, every player in the NWHL has worn a sticker with her No. 24 on their helmets and will continue to next season.
“Hockey has been a big part of my life and my family’s life, so I’m proud to continue our legacy,” Brianna said. “Being able to play pro for the Pride — the team I always hoped to play for — is an amazing opportunity. It’s extra special because it’s also a way to honor Denna, whom I think about every day and is such an inspiration to me and so many other people. The first time I wear that Boston Pride jersey with ‘LAING’ on the back will be incredible.”
In the U.S. national program, Laing won a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF U18 Women’s World Hockey Championships. She has participated in four USA Hockey camps and three USA Hockey Warren Strelow Goaltending Camps.
While playing for the Pride, she will be in the Master’s degree program in Conservation Medicine at Tufts University.
“My goal is to become a veterinarian,” she said.
(Reprinted with permission of NHL.com) (Photo credit, NHL.com)
