Hannah Palumbo: Winters are long, and hockey is more than just a pastime here in Golden, B.C. While Golden Rockets games bring the community together at the Golden and District Arena, 18-year-old Hannah Palumbo is in another country pursuing goals.
Her hard work and determination as a goaltender have earned her recognition within the Columbia Valley as a talented hockey player, and she is building her education off the ice to help other athletes.
Hannah says she is “getting into a nice routine” at MSU, located in Minot, North Dakota, in the USA, where she is also playing hockey for the Minot University Beavers women’s team and following the path of her family members by working towards a teaching career with a focus in Physical Education.
“It’s awesome. It’s really fun!” she says about her experience settling into the University culture and getting to know fellow students. She says she is surrounded by other athletes with like-minded interests.
“It’s awesome. I’m surrounded by mostly athletes,” she says.
Hannah first laced up her skates at the age of four, joining her older sister, Isabella Palumbo and her father, Mike Palumbo, on the ice. By the time she was 15, she had earned a spot as a guest player on the Golden Rocket’s team, becoming one of the youngest players to compete at that level. Her tenacity and skill quickly earned her recognition and awards.
From 2022 to 2024, she played for the West Kootenay Wildcats in Trail, B.C., and won the Provincials in 2023. In Grade 12, from 2024 to 2025, she played in Medicine Hat, A.B., for the South Alberta Hockey Academy and won the Canadian Sport School Hockey League second team all-star with that team.
“I love hockey. It’s the best thing I could have done with my life,” she says, adding, “My Dad was always helpful to me growing up, and all of my friends play hockey.”
“My sister is the coolest person to look up to,” Hannah says of her sister Isabella, who is five years older than her.
“She gives me tips, and we talk about college. She’s done it all,” Hannah says, adding that making friends with her hockey team has been the “greatest thing.”
“I have 20 best friends,” she says.
Currently goaltending for the Minot State Beavers (MSB), she says she is learning more about hockey on the University team and has a busy schedule full of practices, games, and class time. When talking about the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the National Hockey League (NHL), she says it “would be a dream to get that far.”
“It’s kind of tough, not impossible, but tough,” she says, explaining that if she wanted that path, she would “need to transfer schools – to one if the NCWL schools and light up that league.”
Now, Hannah is embarking on a new chapter with a focus on her career path to become a teacher, her first year at university, where she’s not only pursuing a degree in Physical Education and continuing her hockey career at the University level.
The transition from small-town life to the bustling campus has been exciting, with 50 students within her dorm, and sharing space while making new friends. Hannah says she is enjoying movie nights and the buffet offered in the dorm.
She says her favourite class is “taping,” an interactive class that enables her to practise taping to support and care for athletes, something she is looking forward to doing professionally as a Physical Education teacher.”
“Maybe I can be a part of helping a kid who wants to be an athlete,” Hannah says, adding, “I love seeing kids learn things and taking care of them.”
