WHL’s three female athletic therapists breaking new ground in junior hockey

When the puck dropped between the Wenatchee Wild and Kamloops Blazers at the Sandman Centre on October 8, 2023, a new chapter of WHL history was written.

For the first time in the league, a game featured not one, but two female athletic therapists- Karina Lahti for the Wild and Rebecca Kuresh for the Blazers.

The feat would repeat later that week when Kuresh and the Blazers visited the Tri-City Americans, where Taylor Curry was beginning her first season with the club.

“The three of us have stayed pretty close, and we’ve had each other’s backs,” Lahti said. “At the end of the day, all of us medical staff have each other’s back. We’re all there to make sure all our athletes are safe. But I think with the three of us it’s a little extra special to see another female in the same position.”

Same position, same lofty qualifications, but very different paths to the top tier of junior hockey.

Lahti had anticipated a career as a physiotherapist but loved working with volleyball and hockey teams at Trinity Western University.

The Surrey, B.C. product was juggling two jobs, one working with Columbia Bible College athletes and another designing rehabilitation programs for people who had been in car accidents.

Despite the taxing hours, Lahti felt energized by her sessions with athletes.

“One of the most challenging parts is when someone gets first injured, I’m realizing that one, it’s going to be a lot of work this athlete puts in, it’s gonna be frustrating at times, and your heart kind of breaks for them,” Lahti said. “But that’s when we as athletic therapists, athletic trainers need to be their biggest support system and say, ‘Hey, this is so unfortunate that you’re going through this injury, but I’m gonna be with you every single step of the way. Here’s our gameplan here’s our different goals and how I’m gonna get you back on the ice better than ever before.'”

The dual-citizen is now in her first season with the Wenatchee Wild after putting in the work with the Spokane Chiefs as an intern, Prince George Spruce Kings, Colorado Buffaloes football team, Vancouver Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, and multiple lacrosse teams.

Lahti prides herself on building a strong program in Wenatchee essentially from the ground up.

“I knew there were going to be challenges in that we’re having to build a whole new WHL team,” she said. “But I’m on that challenge. I want to be the first athletic trainer with a new WHL team and really kind of hone in on what I want our medical system to really look like and try to help build that for the years to come. How can I make this experience the best possible- not only for the athletes that we adopted, basically when we bought the team, but for the future athletes to come?”

At the same time, Rebecca Kuresh was climbing the ranks in her native Alberta.

Growing up dancing, the Calgarian was no stranger to unusual, stubborn injuries.

She also considered physiotherapy before going back to school at Mount Royal University while working as a student athletic therapist at MRU and the nearby University of Calgary.

Kuresh spent five seasons in the AJHL before making the jump to Kamloops.

She was recognized and invited to work at prestigious events like the 2022 World Junior A Challenge, two AJHL Top Prospects exhibitions and a national showcase.

Kuresh had dealt with everything from broken femurs to cuts and missing teeth, and working alongside Colin ‘Toledo’ Robinson, there isn’t much they can’t handle- which is good news for Blazers like Harrison Brunicke.

The top NHL prospect is working back from a scary injury sustained on February 19 that left him lying on the ice for several minutes.

“Something that sets a good therapist apart from someone else is how you handle yourself in those situations,” Kuresh said. “Being able to be calm and composed and just be there for the athlete. Obviously, you check the things off that you need to get done on your end, but I think half the battle is just being there for someone that’s in pain and scared. You see them from the initial injury, you kind of see them all the way through rehab and you get them back playing and something awesome happens and they get another opportunity.”

Taylor Curry knows all about opportunity.

The Maple Valley, Wash. product came to the WHL by chance.

The bulk of her experience had come from serving as the athletic trainer for USA Wrestling in Washington state, where her younger brother was a tough competitor and, often, her main patient.

“He’s done both knees, did his thumb and wrist at the same time, so he was double-casted for eight weeks a couple of years ago,” Curry said, adding he was able to laugh at a tough situation after he was back in action. “He was usually my number one patient and so everyone always jokes with him, like ‘you would have never gotten through your career without your sister.’ Sports have been pretty big in me and my brother’s relationship  and also turned into a super fun and unique career path.”

When the WHL returned from the COVID-19 break, the Seattle Thunderbirds reached out to Curry in search of some extra helping hands.

Her first season with the team ended in heartbreak with a loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL Championship, but she was on the bench to see the Thunderbirds win it all in 2022-23.

“It was so fun getting to watch all of the boys’ hard work pay off in that moment,” Curry recalled. “Going from the season before making it to the finals and falling a bit short, you see the devastation. So to be able to turn it around the next year and win it, but also to win it at home in front of like that home crowd. There was really no way to describe it. I hope it’s not a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I know that was a once-in-a-lifetime team.”

Curry is now in her first season as the Tri-City Americans’ athletic therapist.

The three female athletic therapists have overlapped for 15 WHL regular season games this season, with many more to come.

“It is primarily a male-dominated field but it’s also a male-dominated league, so getting to look over at the bench and when we get to play Wenatchee or Kamloops and seeing another girl just feels like a little victory on the inside,” Curry said. “It’s so much fun.”

“It’s kind of a unique bond that you have with ATs,” Kuresh added. “But then when you have another female in the same kind of position that you’re in, it’s pretty cool to be able to relate to them on a different level than you do with other people. They’re both awesome and I’ve loved working with them so far.

“It may be a first, but it won’t be the last time, and I think that’s the best part about it. It’s only the start.”