Carling Nigul-Chown — Women’s hockey
This week, the Fulcrum met up with Carling Nigul-Chown to find out more about the third-year social science student and power forward for the women’s hockey team. The British Columbia native stands at 5’10 with a presence that cannot be missed on the ice, regardless of which team you’re on.
The Fulcrum: When did you start playing hockey?
Carling Nigul-Chown: I started when I was young—probably when I was five. My brother used to play, so I started because of that.
How would you describe your dynamic on the ice, both with the Gee-Gees and with the other team?
I’m probably very annoying to the other team because I consider myself to be an enforcer—the big body that gets tossed in front of the net. With the Gee-Gees, I try to be a leader on our team.
How is the team coming together with regards to the rookies?
There are seven, which is a decent amount. But the rookies are awesome. It’s usually hard building a team starting a season with so many rookies. My first year, there were 16 of us. It was definitely a building year. This year hasn’t been a building year though. We started right off as if we’d been a team that was together for a while. So it’s been good.
How do you feel about head coach Yanick Evola?
He’s a great coach because he’s very passionate and just wants us to do our best and win the championship, which is what we all want. I know a lot of people can find him intimidating, but he’s definitely there for us.
What do you think about the no-hitting rule in women’s hockey?
I don’t know, it’s hard to say. We’re allowed physical contact, but not quite hitting like the boys. I mean, there are so many girls that grow up playing boy’s rep hockey and they hit so I don’t know.
Do you have any personal pre-game rituals?
I like to sit on the trunk in the change room to tape my stick. It’s the thing that holds all of the equipment manager’s stuff—it has tape, saws, etc. I have to sit on it; it’s ritual. I don’t really think I should be sitting on it, but in first year I sat there and now I always do.
Do you speak French? How does that impact you considering a majority of the team is French?
No. There are five English girls on the team, but three of us can’t understand it altogether. Yanick often speaks in French, but will switch over to English when he sees that we’re struggling to follow. It’s hard before games to get motivated at times when there are two separate languages going on.
What do you do outside of hockey?
Aside from school, I like to sleep. I watch TV shows. I honestly watch so many shows: Sons of Anarchy, Vampire Diaries, Revenge… I could go on. I like doing adventurous things, going out on Fridays. I also especially enjoy people’s company and talking about unrelated things.
What kind of music did you listen to in high school? What was your favourite band?
I don’t have favourites, but I listened to a lot of country music. People like Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and all those.
What’s your favourite class?
Hockey is my favourite class.
Food?
Breakfast. I love breakfast food.
