Avi Adam's Hockey Career Started With A Birthday Wish

“So my birthday wish for two years in a row [was to play hockey] and the second time around, [my parents] figured, ‘Okay well, we better just sign her up and see how it goes…and I guess I never looked back,” says Avi Adam, a third year Cornell forward.

Avi Adam, a native of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, a town with a population of just over 5,000, fell in love with the game of hockey after watching it live alongside her father.

“So I grew up in a very rural area and my dad is the percussion professor at the university there at Acadia,” said Adam. “And then once he was off work, we would make our way down to the Acadia Athletics Complex, where the men's team would be practicing at the same time every day.”

It was in those early days, standing alongside her father, left speechless with what she was watching, that Adam made it her mission to play hockey, and be one of the best. That drive has led her on an incredible journey, including the opportunity to represent her country with Team Canada at the U-18 World Championships, and to continue the pursuit of her hockey dreams with Cornell University.

Adam, a forward, made the jump from U-16 to the OWHL with the Etobicoke Dolphins U-22 program, where she won the provincial championship in 2022 after scoring 10 points in 24 games. The importance of that program on her development as a player, both on and off the ice, has never been lost on her.

“I remember one of the first things that they told us when we came to Etobicoke was that you guys are going to be given everything that you need to succeed,” said Adam. “So there's no reason why you shouldn't be at your best every day. [Etobicoke] went above and beyond because once you're given that opportunity and all those resources again, you're like, 'okay, yeah, no, there's absolutely no excuse why I shouldn't be at 100% every single day as soon as I come to the rink because I have all the tools needed to be successful and work hard and make my team better.'”

Those tools, both on and off the ice, and the mentality set by the coaching staff with Etobicoke, have helped to propel Adam into the next phase of her hockey career, including with Team Canada.

In 2021 and in 2022, Adam had the opportunity to represent her country and won gold in the 2022 U-18 World Championships.

“When I was told that I made the team, I was kind of a mess crying,” Adam remembered. “But as soon as I went to the room with the rest of my teammates, everyone else was in the exact same boat, which was comforting to see.”

At every stage of her hockey career, Adam makes sure to soak it all in and to continue being a student of the game, learning how to be the best athlete, person, and student.

Avi Adam, who is in her third season with Cornell University, has scored 25 points in 63 career games as of the time of writing this article and knew exactly where she wanted to end up.

“When I started my process in grade 8, Cornell was the first school that I talked to,” Adam said. “And then eventually after 7 months or so, I had spoken to my parents and was like, ‘Oh, Cornell is still my number one. And I wouldn't trade it for anything because I definitely picked the right spot, for sure.”

For Avi Adam, an athlete from small town Nova Scotia who fell in love with the game from the moment her father first brought her to the rink all those years ago, hockey continues to be everything she could have asked for. The relationships she’s forged, experiences she’s had, and lessons she’s learned will all last a lifetime and are a reminder that when you follow what makes your heart sing, you get to where you want to be.

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