Our Team
Jess Healey
Playing Career
I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta where I played boys hockey until bantam before I made the transition into girls hockey. During my time playing Midget AAA I was lucky enough to make U18 Team Canada where I went on to win gold in the tournament.
Being at the U18 tournament in Budapest pushed me into the spotlight and soon I was being approached by several schools to join their programs. In my final year of high school I was flown in to multiple NCAA schools to tour and meet the coaching staff. In the end I fell in love with Duluth, Minnesota and shortly after became a Bulldog with UMD. While living out my dream on the ice I was also completing my Psychology degree, balancing both athletics and academics. After graduation I continued my hockey career in Sweden where I played for HV71 for 3 years gaining valuable life and leadership experience. As of the 2022/23 season I am now playing with the Buffalo Beauts in the NWHL where I have signed a 2 year contract.
Team History
2011-2014 Edmonton Thunder Midgett AAA (AMMFHL)
2013-2014 Team Alberta U18
2014 Team Canada U18 (WJC-18)
2014-2018 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog (NCAA D1)
2018 U22 Team Canada
2018-2021 HV71 (SDHL)
2022-Current Buffalo Beauts (PHF)
Awards/Achievements
2012 Esso Cup Bronze Medalist
2013 Edmonton Thunder Top Defenseman
2013 U18 Team Alberta Assistant Captain
2013 Team Alberta Bronze Medalist Canadian National Women's U-18 Championship
2013 Canadian National Women's U-18 Championship Top Defenseman
2012-2013 Edmonton Thunder Midgett AAA Assistant Captain
2013-2014 Edmonton Thunder Midgett AAA Captain
2013-2014 Edmonton Thunder Midgett AAA Top Defenseman
2014 Team Canada U18 Gold Medalist
2014-2015 WCHA Rookie of the week
2013-2014 University of Minnesota Duluth Assistant Captain
2015-16 WCHA All-Academic Team
2016-17 WCHA Scholar Athlete
2016-17 WCHA All-Academic Team
2018 U22 Team Canada Assistant Captain
2018-2019 HV71 Assistant Captain
2019-2022 HV71 Captain
Yoga Journey
I began practicing yoga over 8 years ago. It originally began as a way to increase my flexibility but I quickly learned that yoga was so much more than a physical pursuit. I realized that there are many on and off ice benefits to having a consistent yoga practice. Physically, yoga helps with mobility, strength, balance and length. Mentally, yoga helps us to be in the present moment, focus on our bodies and more importantly our breath. Both of these aspects can easily be translated to our on ice performance and our off ice training. I found my physical body feeling more open and found that my game pay changed quickly as a result of the work I was putting in on the mat My off ice training enhanced as my body felt more open and my mobility is the best its ever been. In May 2022 I became a yoga teacher, completing my 200hr training to compliment my daily yoga practice. My mission now is to help other athletes create a balanced body by incorporating other movement and breath work into their training like yoga.
Stephanie Eliuk
Who I Am
I have been devoted to my yoga practice since 2004 after an introduction to Ashtanga during University. I walked into a class at the Yoga Loft and knew that this was a world I needed to be a part of. Over the years, I began to learn more about living a yogic lifestyle and the benefits of regular practice. After a later-term pregnancy loss in 2014, yoga became a source of healing for me. I took a leap of faith, and decided to attend a 200hr Iyengar teacher training in Costa Rica. Returning renewed, with passion to teach and share the benefits of Yoga with my students.
Over the last two and a half years I have returned to my love of Ashtanga and a strong Vinyasa practice. Mysore style practice is both humbling and empowering, and has impacted how I choose to teach my own classes. More often than not, I prefer to teach a strong, Ashtanga based practice that blends together breath, challenging postures, and a little bit of laughter. My goal is to help students to enjoy the journey and accept that not every day is the same; to find the lightness in their practice, and never compare theirs to others.
Yoga for Athletes
I also have a passion for bringing the benefits of a consistent yoga practice to athletes of all types. Being constantly surrounded by elite level athletes has given me great insight into the challenges of high impact exercise and how it can effect the body. I have been working to help athletes utilize this practice for joint stabilization and mobility, core strength, injury prevention and breath control..
My Training
200 Hour YTT ~ Marianne Wells Yoga School
100 Hour Level 2 YTT ~ Ryan Leier & One Yoga Faculty
50 Hour Yin YTT ~ Jennifer Raye
200 Hour Rocket YTT ~ Carson Clay Calhoun School of Yoga
Mysore style study with:
~ Sharmila Desai
~ Iain Grysak
~ Mark Robberds
Workshops:
~ Nicki Doane
~ Janet Stone
First Aid & CPR Level C
Athlete Experience
- Royal Glenora Figure Skating Program
- Sherwood Park Figure Skating Program
- Goalie Camp for Kurtis Mucha
- FX High Performance Hockey Academy
- U18 AAA Pandas Hockey
- Mount Carmel Hockey Academy
- CAC U15AAA & U15AA
- KC U15AA
- Various Long Distance Runners & Triathletes
- Kinsmen Diving Club