Zoe Uens on Family, Growth at Quinnipiac and Her Journey to the PWHL
As the defender prepares to embark on a professional career, Zoe Uens reflects on a journey that began after watching her family play on backyard rinks in Belleville, Ontario.
Sometimes, if you’re really lucky, you can recall the exact moment you discovered your passion. Maybe it was on a family vacation; you started taking photos and realized that you have a knack for composition. Or maybe you were unable to take part in high school gym class because of injuries and uncovered an unexpected desire to be on stage in the theatre. That was exactly the case for Belleville’s Zoe Uens.
Our full conversation is also available on YouTube here.
“Both my dad and my brother played hockey,” she recalled. “I remember looking out; we were at the old Memorial Arena in Belleville, Ontario, and I was sitting with my mom and I was like, ‘I want to go play hockey.’” And Zoe, who loved how much of a family event hockey was, never looked back. Family, you’ll find, is a central theme of this inspiring story.
Growing up, Zoe was active in a variety of sports and found this an important aspect of her development as an athlete. In particular, the variety of movements, she said, helps to prevent injuries, which are always a risk in the sport. “To be able to coordinate yourself is so important and it actually helps your hockey in the end,” Zoe said.
As her junior career progressed, Zoe would move on to play with the Kingston Ice Wolves of the Ontario Women’s Hockey League, where she would grow, develop and mature into team captain, providing her with early leadership experience which would be vital during her time at Quinnipiac. Zoe would go on to play in 97 career regular-season games with the Wolves, but one season, her final year with the organization, stood out amongst the rest, as she would record nine goals and 22 points in 27 games. What sparked that remarkable season? It was simple: she could have fun again.
“I think the gratitude that comes with not playing for a season,” she said. “COVID shut everything down, and you just want to have fun again and play hockey. You were just going on the ice, smiling ear to ear because you were actually able to play games, and when you’re having fun, good things happen.”
Following four strong seasons of growth and development within the Kingston organization, it was time for Zoe to consider where to pursue a collegiate career. For her, that meant finding a place that allowed her to pursue both hockey and academics at an elite level. Enter Quinnipiac University.
“When I was talking to Quinnipiac, the coaches gave me a warm feeling like they really cared about you as a person outside of just the hockey player which I really liked,” Zoe said. “It just felt like home, and I knew that was the place that I wanted to go.”
Finding that balance between continuing to develop into the hockey player she strove to be and succeeding in the classroom initially posed a learning curve for Zoe. But as she’s done so consistently throughout her story, Zoe has found a way to turn those obstacles and moments that might discourage you or me into growth opportunities and defining milestones of success. “Our whole spring program is just doing hard things after hard things so that when those hard things come in the games, they’re easier to overcome,” Zoe said. “Towards the end of it, it got a little bit easier, but with the help of those around me, I was able to overcome it.”
Four years at Quinnipiac, including a final season in which she took on an assistant captain role, taught Zoe that she was more than just a hockey player. She discovered who she really was as a person, and that’s a testament to what happens when you choose a program for reasons that go deeper than just the hockey side and how that decision can have such a positive impact on your entire life moving forward.
Since our conversation, Zoe entered the 2026 PWHL Draft where she was selected in the third round, 36th overall, by the Montreal Victoire.
“The draft was a really cool experience. It was in such a beautiful place, and all the fans in Detroit really showed their support. The atmosphere was something that I truly haven’t experienced on a stage like that, and it showed just how far women’s hockey has come.”
Zoe added: “I’m really excited to go to and prove myself at (Montreal’s) camp. We have such a long offseason to get better and work on different areas of our game, and I’m really excited to get to camp and show everything I’ve been doing this summer.”
From backyard rinks in Belleville, Ontario, to the halls of Quinnipiac University, Zoe Uens has grown, developed and matured into a player who will most certainly have an impact at the next level. She will undeniably inspire the next generation by being someone who never forgot where she came from, opened herself up to challenges, and never let an obstacle define who she was. Now that’s the kind of role model the world needs more of, and fans across the league will love to cheer for.
Our full conversation is also available on YouTube here.