Brand Makes her Mark for the Boston Pride Hockey Team

Hockey writers were referring to McKenna Brand as “a rising superstar” after her splendid collegiate career at Northeastern University.

Brand has now arrived at that lofty status as one of the most outstanding players in the National Women’s Hockey League.

Brand has also arrived in Winthrop as a resident of the town. She has begun working in a position in the Winthrop school system.

Winning the Isobel Cup, professional women’s version of the Stanley Cup, was an electrifying  experience for Brand and the Boston Pride, especially accomplishing it on national television in their home rink.

“I feel like it still hasn’t really set in yet,” said Brand. “I think with this group and with this year, everything has just been so crazy – but it makes it even more special knowing everything we went through last year and this year. To win it with these girls is really, really special, I think.”

The Pride were on the brink of playing in the Isobel Cup championship game  last year when the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation. This year, the teams gathered in Lake Placid to compete for the Isobel Cup, but the final rounds of the playoffs were postponed until March.

As it turned out, the Boston Pride and the Minnesota Whitecaps were the finalists once again and the Boston prevailed by a 4-3 score to take the Cup.

McKenna has been a high-scoring forward for the Pride in her three years with the organization. She is known for her blazing slapshot and incredible passing skills. She was one of the team’s assistant captains playing alongside captain Jillian Demspey and assistant captain Kaleigh Fratkin.

“The coaching staff put me in a position of leadership on and off the ice and to work alongside Jillian and Kaleigh was a really cool experience and I definitely learned a lot from them,” said Brand. “If you ask me who’s the best player I ever played hockey with, I would say it’s Jillian Dempsey. She has made me a much better player.”

Brand was pleased that the league received tremendous exposure on NBC-TV’s nationally televised coverage of the Cup semifinal and final.

“This was pretty big having the games on national television,” said Brand. “I think women’s hockey took a step forward and this [TV coverage] puts us in a good position for next year hopefully getting more games on TV. I heard the ratings exceeded the expectations, which is awesome.”

Brand grew up in Minnesota, a state known for its wealth of ice hockey talent. “I was lucky. My dad (Craig Brand) was my coach for most of my time growing up,” said Brand. “I was basically born with skates on my feet. I lived on a lake in Minnesota, so I was basically skating 24/7.

She played on the high school team for two years before advancing to the North American Hockey Academy in Stowe, Vermont for her sophomore through senior years.

Brand said her plan is to return to the Boston Pride organization for the 2021-22 season.