Blind hockey player from Sudbury, Ont., gears up for international series against U.S.

Amanda Provan of Sudbury, Ont., is excited about heading to the 2024 International Blind Ice Hockey Series in St. Louis later this month.

Provan, 29, is the only woman on Canada's national blind hockey team.

It's the second year on the team for Provan, who has been playing hockey for 15 years.

Provan says she has foveal hypoplasia — a retinal disorder — and discovered hockey for people who are blind six years ago.

"The rods and the cones in my eyes aren't organized as they should be, so they're kind of dispersed and everywhere, so I don't see properly. I have about three per cent vision."

Povan said she's always  been passionate about hockey and finds playing it gives her freedom, despite not being able to see the puck.

In blind hockey, the puck is metal, bigger than regulation and filled with ball bearings so it makes a noise.

Provan said she has developed strategies to follow the play based on the movement of players and the sound of the puck hitting the sticks and the boards.

She said jerseys are in contrasting colours, with one dark jersey and one yellow, and she can follow them.

"I see the colour of the jersey and then I know approximately where the stick should be in relation to that, and that's how I make a pass," she said, adding that communication is also important and her team members can yell her name to receive a pass.

Making the team has been one of her goals and she hopes her accomplishment inspires others, especially other female players.

Provan said now she feels she can go even further as an athlete.

"Finding blind hockey has changed my life. It introduced me to the world of para sports itself and I've tried a bunch of different sports because of it."

She said it has helped her grow personally.

Playing hockey an 'escape from everyday life'

"It introduced me to an incredible community that I now consider more of a family and it's just shown me how capable I am as a person, even having a disability."

Provan describes being on the ice as her "escape from everyday life."

The Canadian Blind Hockey team won last year's series against the U.S. The highlight for Provan was becoming the first female player to ever score internationally during one of those games.

She's eager for the rematch in St. Louis the weekend of April 12-14, admitting there's quite a rivalry between the teams.

During the off-season, Provan said, she has taken up tandem cycling as she investigates other sports, hoping to one day compete at the Paralympics.