Chloe Primerano had a choice to make.
Less than two years after making the switch from boys to girls hockey, Primerano was already one of the sport’s best young players, leading her team in scoring and winning Canadian Female Prep High School MVP in her 10th grade debut season. And after her international debut at the 2024 U18 worlds — where she led the tournament in scoring, set a record for points by a defender (16) and was named best defender and tournament MVP — Primerano already needed a new challenge.
She could return to RINK Hockey Academy in Kelowna, B.C., the hockey school that churns out NCAA talent, national team hopefuls and NHL draft picks such as Tij Iginla and Ryder Ritchie, or she could make a highly unusual move for a teenage women’s hockey player: graduate from high school early and start college at 17.
While a move like that is not uncommon in the men’s game — think Macklin Celebrini going to Boston University early — in the women’s game it is an unconventional choice. But for Primerano?
“She had outgrown the league she was playing in,” said Byron Ritchie, the former NHL forward and current skills coach at RINK.
And now, when the University of Minnesota opens its season on Friday, Primerano will be making her college debut a year ahead of…
