Huntsville native Summer-Rae Dobson has proved for a second year in a row how far she can go fuelled by her talent, positive mindset, and love for the sport of hockey.
This year marks the second season of Dobson’s two year contract with the Buffalo Beauts for the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), a women’s professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada.
Dobson signed a two year contract with the Buffalo Beauts in 2022 and has re-negotiated her contract for the 2023-24 season. The Buffalo Beauts play at the North Town Centre in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. Dobson has lived there since the beginning of the first season of her contract.
“I love it, I’m in a cute little town and it kind of reminds me of Huntsville,” Dobson says. “It’s really nice.”
Dobson was born and raised in Huntsville and started playing hockey at the age of three. From this early age, Dobson developed a strong passion and skill for the sport, and since there were no girls’ hockey teams in Huntsville, she played for The Huntsville Otters until 13 years of age.
“I have an older brother, he played [hockey] in Huntsville too and I looked up to him and wanted to be like him,” Dobson recalls. “So I started with hockey and I fell in love with it right away. And I’ve been playing ever since.”
Dobson began playing girl’s hockey in Aurora at 13, traveling back and forth from Huntsville for games and practices. She then moved to St. Catherines to attend Ridley College preparatory school and played high-level hockey there for three years. This was a crucial step in the advancement of Dobson’s hockey career, as it was the first time she played in a big city where “there are way more eyes on you,” she says.
Dobson’s hard work and impressive skill set did not go unnoticed, and she received a full-ride scholarship to play divisional and college hockey for five years. She attended Mercyhurst University in Eerie, Pennsylvania for her undergrad studies and the University of Connecticut for her Master’s. From the 2017-18 to 2020-21 seasons, Dobson played 162 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) games.
Fresh out of college, the Buffalo Beauts made Dobson an offer to join the team and she accepted.
“College for girls used to be the highest level – Division One – so this league [PHF] is really just starting to grow,” Dobson explains. “It never used to be enough to live off of, so after college, a lot of girls just didn’t play because they had to go off and get other jobs. I’m really lucky because it just started to happen where there’s a pro team where the GMs watch you and your college career and then they grab you right away; that’s kind of how it worked with Buffalo.” The PHF currently consists of seven teams: Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force, and Toronto Six. Dobson hopes to stay on with the Buffalo Beauts indefinitely but there is a possibility she could be traded to any of these other teams in the future.
“I want to stay in Buffalo, it’s a nice place and it’s close to home. It’s a big sports city and it’s a great place to grow women’s hockey. But you never know, it’s a business and anything could happen,” she says. “That’s why you have to keep performing every single day.”
Dobson’s years of hard work and dedication has led her to achieving her dream job, and she hopes to continue playing professional women’s hockey for as long as she possibly can.
“The Women’s League is growing and I’d like to stay in it long-term because it’s something that I love to do,” she beams. “It’s crazy when you can say that hockey is your job. It’s pretty awesome.”
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