Agosta has positivity beat covered on Team Canada
A Vancouver police officer, she leads on — and off — the ice at world championships in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS — Meghan Agosta is a talker.
The fleet-footed forward, who has helped Team Canada to a 1-1 start at this IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship, was polite and pleasant in interviews in past years, but was rarely particularly wordy.
These days, give her a chance; she’ll readily go on about women’s hockey and the Canadian program and her own off-ice career as a constable with the Vancouver Police Department.
At 29, she’s not the young, upstart kid anymore. She’s also undoubtedly come across some things on her job that most of us don’t experience.
“In high school, I’d see a police car drive by with the lights and sirens and I’d wonder where they were going and what they were doing,” said Agosta, the Ruthven, Ont., product who had to sit out last year’s world championship in Malmo, Sweden, because of work commitments.
“I’ve had two passions in my life: hockey and policing. With policing, it was just a matter of when. This job with the VPD just fell into my lap. I was in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people, and they gave me an amazing opportunity.
“I do think it’s really matured me as a person. I’ve taken a lot of life lessons out of it, going to these different calls. It’s made me grow as a person and as a leader on this team.”
That, and her talent is what’s at play here. She’s been a part of three Olympic gold-medal teams, the first coming in Turin 2006 when she was turning 19.
The 5-7, 148-pound, lefthanded shooting Agosta has long been considered one of the world’s most gifted players; she was voted most valuable player at Vancouver 2010 after leading the Olympic tournament in scoring.
For Canadian coach Laura Schuler though, it’s Agosta’s leadership. She was recently named an alternate captain of the team, a first for her.
“She’s constantly talking to the younger players and letting them know that, ‘Hey, we can do this,’ and ‘There’s a reason why you are here,’ ” said Schuler. “She makes people believe in themselves.”
With no high-end women’s league in the Vancouver area, Agosta skated regularly with the VPD team, the Centurions. She also practised with the Valley West Hawks, a Major Midget boys team in Langley.
Chief Adam Palmer says the VPD is proud to support her as she represents Canada in Kamloops.