Personal Statement

UPDATE: Committed to NAZARETH UNIVERSITY!! Can’t wait!!!

My name is Ella Mannila and I have been playing hockey since I was 3 years old  on my rink in our backyard and in local arenas in Northern Ontario.   I played hockey at the IP1 level, novice boys and an Atom girls team while I was novice age.  I also played boys and girls in my ATOM hockey year.  Then I  made a AA girls team at the PeeWee level in a nearby city (Thunder Bay, Ontario).  I have been playing competitive hockey ever since during the winter and spring months.  I enjoy attending hockey schools in the off season and playing hockey in RUSH hockey tournaments.  I would love to travel to Florida to participate in a RUSH hockey event in the near future when the border between Canada and USA open for travel.

I was accepted and signed to play on the girls U19 team for the 2021/2022 hockey season at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Fairbault, Minnesota.  I am excited to follow my hockey dreams.returning for the 2022/2023 hockey season at Shattuck St. Mary's to continue growing and improving as a hockey player.

 I am a competitive person with a great work ethic and personality.  I love playing hockey and work hard to improve my game.   I am coachable and  I am a team player.   I have played in Canada and the United States and have represented  my First Nations Indigenous Band at the Little Native Hockey League Tournament for 2 years in a row in Canada.   I was currently in the process of trying out for Team Ontario for a National Indigenous Hockey Tournament (which was halted by Covid).  I reapplied for the National Indigenous Hockey Championships 2022 and was offered a spot on Team Ontario but had to withdrawal due to a conflict with my schooling.

 I want to play Division 1 hockey and hope to go to school to be an anesthesiologist.   I am looking to find a school in future which will challenge me as a hockey player, improve my game and develop my skills even further.

Covid 19 has closed all local arenas where I live for most of the 2020/2021 year.  It has been challenging to get on the ice.  BUT....I live on Lake Superior and my family have made a large rink in front of our camp where I can get out and skate, practice puck handling, and just getting on some ice to feel normal again and have fun!