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Meet the Newcomers: Emily Oden
8/29/2018 10:56:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Emily Oden joins the Gophers as a right-handed forward from Edina, Minn.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Freshman Emily Oden joins the Maroon & Gold from Edina, Minn. A four-time all-conference and three-time all-state honoree, Oden led Edina to back-to-back state titles at the Minnesota State Class AA Tournament as a junior and senior. As a senior, she recorded 60 points (33g-27a) in 31 games. Oden was a 2018 Minnesota Ms. Hockey finalist and a 2018 All-USA Girls Hockey Second Team honoree. As a member of the U.S. Women's Under-18 Team, Oden was a two-time gold medalist at the 2017 and 2016 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championships.
Gophers Sports: How did you first start playing hockey?
Emily Oden: My older brother played. It is kind of the classic story. I was at the rink every day watching, being dragged into it. I figured that if I was there anyway, I might as well try it out. That's how I got into it.
GS: What is your earliest hockey memory?
EO: I grew up on land with 60 acres, out in the country. There were two different ponds. When they would freeze over, we would all lace up the skates. We did not have to flood or anything, just go right out on the pond. That's how we learned to skate. We would play pick-up games with people from the neighborhood.
GS: Did you play any other sports growing up?
EO: I played softball and volleyball, but I stopped right before high school. Hockey is such a full-time sport with spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons. I thought I would focus in on what I liked the best.
GS: How did you pick hockey as the sport you wanted to focus on?
EO: Growing up in Minnesota, it's the main sport. It is the biggest sport, and there is such a community to it. Everyone that I have met playing hockey, I have been friends with for years. With other sports, there were not as close-knit of groups. As a kid, growing up, hockey was the main sport. You look up to the older hockey girls and idolize them. I wanted to be just like them.
GS: Who is a hockey player you looked up to when you were growing up?
EO: I did not really have one main player I looked up to, but when I was little, I admired the older Olympians at the time, like Natalie Darwitz. I also looked up to my older siblings and their friends because they seemed like Olympians to me. They were so much bigger and so much better, and I would always be at their games watching them and their style.
GS: How would you describe your high school hockey experience?
EO: I had a great experience. Edina really offered a lot. Being able to play high school hockey with so many DI athletes was crazy. Most high school teams will have one or two come out of their school. In our senior class, there were six of us. That really made it fun. They were just as competitive and skilled, and we all wanted the same things. We all had the same drive to improve, so that made it fun to show up at the rink everyday with people who have the same goals as you.
GS: How did you choose the University of Minnesota?
EO: Growing up in Minnesota, I would come to all of the games and go to Skate with the Gophers. I idolized the girls on the team. I wanted to be out there. I wanted to be like them. When I was younger, it was always a dream of mine. Once I got older, I started looking at schools and figuring it out. I knew I wanted a bigger school. Once I met with the coaches and the team here, they felt like family.
GS: When did you realize that playing Division I hockey was a reality?
EO: Once I started playing varsity with the high school, that's when I started getting more competitive and more serious. I realized that college hockey was an opportunity. I came to the rink to work hard every day, knowing that it was in reach.
GS: What was your USA Hockey experience like?
EO: It was really good. My first year, I was a sophomore on the team, so I was one of the younger people. Everyone was so supportive. That was such a good experience, playing with a true team. Everyone had a role; everyone knew their role. To win gold, everyone had to play that role. No one thought about themselves. It was all about lifting everyone up and playing as a team.
GS: What are you most looking forward to about playing for the Gophers?
EO: The Border Battle with Wisconsin is something I have looked forward to for years. I have been going to those games at Ridder every time since I was young. It's such a rivalry. It gets packed, and on home ice especially, everyone is cheering for the Gophers. I get so excited thinking about that game.
GS: Do you know what you want to study at the University of Minnesota?
EO: I came in undecided, but I think this summer I've decided I am going to focus on business. There are a lot of options with that, so we will see.
Faceoff with Emily Oden
Favorite Netflix series: White Collar.
Favorite movie: The Martian or The Guardian.
Hot coffee or iced coffee: Both. As soon as the temperature drops, I go for hot coffee.
Favorite type of music: Country in the summer and pop or hip-hop during the winter.
If you could play another sport in college, it would be: Volleyball.
Favorite animal: Whales.
Describe yourself in one word: Adventurous.
Name the best player you have ever played against: Jocelyne Lamoureux.
Biggest pet peeve: Either being late or a big mess. I'm not a fan of messy things.
Name one thing on your bucket list: I want to go skydiving.
Name one food that you could never live without: Ice cream.
Name one food that you refuse to eat: Olives.
What advice would you give to a young athlete: I would say to have fun with what you are doing and try to enjoy every minute of it because the second that you stop enjoying it, it turns into something that you have to do rather than something that you get to do.
Favorite holiday: Christmas.
Name something that Gopher fans would be surprised to learn about you: My bio says that I am from Edina, but I actually grew up on 60 acres of land with a bunch of animals. I grew up there and then we moved into the city so I could attend Edina High School.
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Gophers Sports: How did you first start playing hockey?
Emily Oden: My older brother played. It is kind of the classic story. I was at the rink every day watching, being dragged into it. I figured that if I was there anyway, I might as well try it out. That's how I got into it.
GS: What is your earliest hockey memory?
EO: I grew up on land with 60 acres, out in the country. There were two different ponds. When they would freeze over, we would all lace up the skates. We did not have to flood or anything, just go right out on the pond. That's how we learned to skate. We would play pick-up games with people from the neighborhood.
GS: Did you play any other sports growing up?
EO: I played softball and volleyball, but I stopped right before high school. Hockey is such a full-time sport with spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons. I thought I would focus in on what I liked the best.
GS: How did you pick hockey as the sport you wanted to focus on?
EO: Growing up in Minnesota, it's the main sport. It is the biggest sport, and there is such a community to it. Everyone that I have met playing hockey, I have been friends with for years. With other sports, there were not as close-knit of groups. As a kid, growing up, hockey was the main sport. You look up to the older hockey girls and idolize them. I wanted to be just like them.
GS: Who is a hockey player you looked up to when you were growing up?
EO: I did not really have one main player I looked up to, but when I was little, I admired the older Olympians at the time, like Natalie Darwitz. I also looked up to my older siblings and their friends because they seemed like Olympians to me. They were so much bigger and so much better, and I would always be at their games watching them and their style.
GS: How would you describe your high school hockey experience?
EO: I had a great experience. Edina really offered a lot. Being able to play high school hockey with so many DI athletes was crazy. Most high school teams will have one or two come out of their school. In our senior class, there were six of us. That really made it fun. They were just as competitive and skilled, and we all wanted the same things. We all had the same drive to improve, so that made it fun to show up at the rink everyday with people who have the same goals as you.
GS: How did you choose the University of Minnesota?
EO: Growing up in Minnesota, I would come to all of the games and go to Skate with the Gophers. I idolized the girls on the team. I wanted to be out there. I wanted to be like them. When I was younger, it was always a dream of mine. Once I got older, I started looking at schools and figuring it out. I knew I wanted a bigger school. Once I met with the coaches and the team here, they felt like family.
GS: When did you realize that playing Division I hockey was a reality?
EO: Once I started playing varsity with the high school, that's when I started getting more competitive and more serious. I realized that college hockey was an opportunity. I came to the rink to work hard every day, knowing that it was in reach.
GS: What was your USA Hockey experience like?
EO: It was really good. My first year, I was a sophomore on the team, so I was one of the younger people. Everyone was so supportive. That was such a good experience, playing with a true team. Everyone had a role; everyone knew their role. To win gold, everyone had to play that role. No one thought about themselves. It was all about lifting everyone up and playing as a team.
GS: What are you most looking forward to about playing for the Gophers?
EO: The Border Battle with Wisconsin is something I have looked forward to for years. I have been going to those games at Ridder every time since I was young. It's such a rivalry. It gets packed, and on home ice especially, everyone is cheering for the Gophers. I get so excited thinking about that game.
GS: Do you know what you want to study at the University of Minnesota?
EO: I came in undecided, but I think this summer I've decided I am going to focus on business. There are a lot of options with that, so we will see.
Faceoff with Emily Oden
Favorite Netflix series: White Collar.
Favorite movie: The Martian or The Guardian.
Hot coffee or iced coffee: Both. As soon as the temperature drops, I go for hot coffee.
Favorite type of music: Country in the summer and pop or hip-hop during the winter.
If you could play another sport in college, it would be: Volleyball.
Favorite animal: Whales.
Describe yourself in one word: Adventurous.
Name the best player you have ever played against: Jocelyne Lamoureux.
Biggest pet peeve: Either being late or a big mess. I'm not a fan of messy things.
Name one thing on your bucket list: I want to go skydiving.
Name one food that you could never live without: Ice cream.
Name one food that you refuse to eat: Olives.
What advice would you give to a young athlete: I would say to have fun with what you are doing and try to enjoy every minute of it because the second that you stop enjoying it, it turns into something that you have to do rather than something that you get to do.
Favorite holiday: Christmas.
Name something that Gopher fans would be surprised to learn about you: My bio says that I am from Edina, but I actually grew up on 60 acres of land with a bunch of animals. I grew up there and then we moved into the city so I could attend Edina High School.
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