She was a hockey player before she was a kindergartner. But if you could ask that pint-sized Megan Keller what she thought of the full-grown version now, long after the Farmington Hills native first put on skates and started chasing after her older brother, Ryan, and his friends, she’d undoubtedly smile.
“Well, she wouldn’t be surprised by the amount of penalty minutes that I’ve racked up,” laughed Keller, now a two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion in women’s hockey. “Playing with the boys and my older brother, you learn to be tough. But I think she would be proud of where I’m at, and hopefully the woman that I’ve become.”
Keller, who just turned 30, has become everything she dreamed of 20 years ago, when she sat in her basement with her father, Greg, watching the U.S. women’s hockey team competing in the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He told her to keep her eyes on No. 4 on the U.S. team, Angela Ruggiero, one of the world’s best defensemen from nearby Harper Woods.
“And I just remember watching her and thinking, ‘OK, that’s what I want to do,’” said Keller, who has done just that, from those teenage years with Honeybaked club teams to three consecutive Frozen Four trips at Boston College and now starring for Team USA for the past decade.
But the North Farmington grad, who also captains the Boston Fleet in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, is still soaking in what has been a “surreal” year in a career full of them, after competing in her third Olympics in Milan, Italy, in February.
Since women’s hockey made its Olympic debut in 1998, the U.S. and Canada have won every world and Olympic gold medal. The North American rivals are no strangers to drama, either, as they decided the last two world championships in overtime.
So no one was surprised when the gold-medal showdown in Milan also was knotted up at the end of regulation. Or that Keller, who led the tournament in scoring, would be involved in the final play in the 3-on-3 overtime format. But her “golden goal” that gave the Americans a thrilling 2-1 victory was the stuff of dreams, all right. Keller took a stretch pass from teammate Taylor Heise, dragged the puck through a Canadian defender and then swept a backhander between the pads of goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens to win it, setting off a wild celebration on the ice.
“I couldn’t get my gloves off fast enough, couldn’t get to my teammates fast enough,” Keller said. “That’s the best part, getting to throw your sticks in the air and hug everybody.”
And then to thank everybody, too.
“I know there’s a lot of people that have helped me along my journey,” said Keller, who returns to Michigan each summer to host more than 100 girls ages 7-16 at a hockey camp. “And I can’t thank them enough for all their support and helping me reach my dreams.”
Amid all her success on the ice, Keller says that’s arguably the most rewarding part: Seeing how much the women’s game has grown, including the 2024 arrival of the PWHL, a league that will expand from eight to 12 teams this year, including a franchise in Detroit.
“I remember growing up thinking I was going to play for the Red Wings one day,” Keller said. “And now to have a professional women’s hockey team in Detroit — a place where I found my love for hockey — there’s going to be so many young girls that are going to fill the stands … and they can watch players like them and have a dream and their dream can become a reality one day. They don’t have to dream and hope to be the first women to play on the Wings. They can play for PWHL Detroit one day.”
Keller remains under contract with the Fleet and plans to continue playing for the U.S. national team through the 2030 Olympics in France. So her own childhood dreams aren’t done yet, either.
“I don’t feel like I’m near my limit just yet,” she said. “So I think she’d say, ‘Keep going.’”
Megan Keller
Age: 30
Occupation: Boston Fleet (PWHL), Team USA defender
Family: Parents Greg and Lynn; brother Ryan
Education: Boston College, bachelor of communications
Why honored: For being a trailblazing women’s hockey star, scoring the overtime winner to clinch the gold medal for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. She’s a three-time Olympian (2018 gold medal; 2022 silver; 2026 gold); nine-time IIHF world medalist (six gold, three silver); NCAA All-American; PWHL All-Star and team captain.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: U.S. Olympic hero Megan Keller reaching her dreams, but isn’t done yet
Reporting by John Niyo, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Niyo, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
