Karolina Urban is a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

and street (ball) hockey player. Selected by the

Toronto Furies The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...

in the

2012 CWHL Draft The 2012 CWHL Draft was held on July 14, 2012 in Mississauga. Team Alberta held the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history. The club selected Hillary Pattenden with the first pick overall. Registration Prospective players m ...

, she was also a member of the

Canada women's national ball hockey team The Canada women's national ball hockey team is the women's national ball hockey team of Canada, and a member of the International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF). World Championships Awards and honors *Alicia Blomberg, Best Forward, ...

that won a gold medal at the

International Street and Ball Hockey Federation The International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) is the international governing body for the sport of street hockey. The ISBHF is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. Mr. George Gortsos (Canada) is the ISBHF President. ISBHF organi ...

(ISBHF) 2015 Women's World Championships in

Zug, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri , twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina) Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...

. Urban also played with the

Markham Thunder The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...

in the 2017–18 CWHL season, winning the

Clarkson Cup The Clarkson Cup (french: La Coupe Clarkson) is a women's ice hockey trophy, which from 2009 to 2019 was awarded to the winner of the Canadian Women's Hockey Championship (CWHL champion). With the folding of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CW ...

with the team.

Playing career

Born in Poland, Urban’s family emigrated to Canada when she was four years old. Raised in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Urban played both

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and ice hockey during her

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

years. Winning a gold medal in ice hockey at the 2006 British Columbia Winter Games, Urban was named to the provincial team that competed at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale area ...

CIS

Having joined the

Toronto Varsity Blues women's ice hockey The Toronto Varsity Blues women's ice hockey program represents the University of Toronto in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. Three-time Olympic medalist Vicky Sunohara has served as head coach since the 2011–12 season. ...

program in autumn 2007, Urban played for head coach (and former Winter Games gold medalist)

Vicky Sunohara Vicky Sunohara (born May 18, 1970) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, former ice hockey player, and three-time Olympic medallist. She has been described as "the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey" and is recognized as a trailblazer and pioneer for the ...

from 2010 to 2012. In her final three seasons, Urban served as team captain and finished top ten all time in points. On January 4, 2010, Urban notched four points in one game versus the

Guelph Gryphons The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports(OUA's), and, where applicable, in ...

. Urban was only the fifth player in Lady Blues history to be a three-time captain. In her

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

year, the Blues finished with

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; french: Sports universitaires de l'Ontario) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providin ...

(OUA) silver falling to Laurier in a best-of-three OUA final. She helped the Varsity Blues jump from a sixth-place finish in the OUA in 2010–11 to a third-place finish the following year. In addition, the Blues finished tenth in the national rankings. Statistically, she recorded 41

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

and 46 assists, for a

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

career total of 85 points. In her final season with the Varsity Blues, Urban was a nominee for the 2012

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Female Athlete of the Year Award.

CWHL

Selected by the

in the 5th round of the

, Urban would play one season ( 2012–13) for the Furies. Wearing number 67, Urban made her debut on October 20, 2012 against the

Brampton Thunder The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...

. A 4-1 home win on November 18, 2012 saw Urban log the first assist and goal in her CWHL career, subsequently logging the first multi-point game in her career. She would earn an assist on the first goal of the game, scored by Shannon Moulson. In the third period, Urban would score at the 18:19 mark, with Kristy Zamora gaining credit for the assist. The following season, Urban joined the

Calgary Inferno The Calgary Inferno (previously known as Team Alberta, nickname "Honeybadgers", during the 2011–12 season) was a women's ice hockey team that joined the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) for the 2011–12 season. The team played its home g ...

, helping the squad qualify for the postseason for the first time in franchise history. With the Inferno, Urban registered an assist on January 19, 2014. Along with Laura Dostaler, the two assisted on Erin Duggan’s first-period goal, part of a 5–1 win against the Brampton Thunder. After taking a short break from the CWHL, Karolina was signed as a free agent with the Markham Thunder for the 2017-2018 inaugural season. The Markham Thunder went on to win the Clarkson Cup after upsetting the Montreal Les Cannadiennes in the first round and beating the Kunlun Red Star 2-1.

Europe

At the 2014 European Women’s Champions Cup, Urban competed with Kazakh team Aisulu Almaty. In the second round of Group G play, Urban accumulated three points. For the 2015–16 women’s ice hockey season, Urban joined the Aisulu Almaty women’s ice hockey team, competing in the European Women’s Hockey League. She was one of three Canadians on the roster, joining Rayne Cruickshank and

Chelsea Purcell Chelsea Purcell (born May 24, 1987) is a former women's ice hockey player. Among her career accomplishments, she was the first captain in the history of the CWHL's Team Alberta franchise. In addition, she was the captain of the Canada women's na ...

. Urban and Purcell had previously been teammates on the Calgary Inferno during the

2013–14 CWHL season The 2013–14 CWHL season was the seventh in league history. The Montreal Stars finished as regular season champions while the top four leading scorers in the regular season are all Stars players (Ann-Sophie Bettez, Sarah Vaillancourt, Vanessa David ...

Ball hockey

As a member of the

, Urban played in seven games. The Canadian team went on to capture the gold medal, posting an undefeated mark. Urban’s first appearance for Canada in the tournament was a 10-0 win against Italy on June 22. A 9–1 win against Switzerland on June 24 saw Urban and

both gain the assist on a goal scored by April Drake. In the semifinals, Urban and Drake would both log assists on a goal scored by Purcell, Canada's second of the game.

Career stats

Personal

In 2012, Urban graduated from the

with a Bachelor of Physical Health and Education in

Kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

and

Exercise Science Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

. Urban would also earn a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(MSc) in

Neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...

at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

in 2014. She completed her

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(PhD) in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Toronto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban, Karolina Living people University of Toronto alumni University of Calgary alumni Toronto Furies players Calgary Inferno players Canadian women's ice hockey forwards Canadian LGBT sportspeople LGBT ice hockey players Lesbian sportswomen 1985 births European Women's Hockey League players 21st-century Canadian LGBT people