Jamie Lee Rattray, a Kanata native, grew up just minutes from the Canadian Tire Centre. Now, nearly three decades later, she returns to the arena as an alternate captain for the Boston Fleet in the PWHL semifinals against the Ottawa Charge. The hometown crowd, once her supporters, now cheers against her.
Full-Circle Moment
Rattray recalled her first ice time at the arena when it was known as the Corel Centre. At age five, she skated with her novice hockey team, beginning a journey that has led to professional play. Now 33, she describes the experience as a full-circle moment.
“It’s pretty cool, kind of a full-circle moment,” Rattray told the Ottawa Citizen.
Playing as the Visitor
Rattray acknowledges the challenge of facing a hostile crowd. “As the visitor, it’s going to be a little difficult,” she said. “We want to get the energy out of this building as opposed to pumping it up.”
The Canadian Tire Centre is a short drive from her childhood home in Kanata, where she spent many nights cheering for the Ottawa Senators with her father. Growing up surrounded by hockey, with numerous local rinks, fueled her passion for the sport.
“Where I grew up in Kanata, there were about eight rinks super close,” she recalled. “As a kid, there were always outdoor rinks everywhere because it got so cold around here.”
Local rinks like Mlacak Arena, Jack Charron Arena, and the Kanata Rec Centre remain vivid in her memory. “You remember the smells of them, the looks of them,” she said. “I’m sure they’ve changed a little bit over the years.”
Family Support
Her parents, David and Melodie Rattray, have been unwavering supporters. They spent years driving her to practices and tournaments across Ontario. “She played in a lot of small rinks for a lot of years to finally get this to be realized,” Melodie said.
“She spent five or six days a week playing hockey, so she never really had a chance to get in trouble,” David added with a chuckle.
Now retired, the Rattrays travel extensively to watch their daughter play. They estimate they have seen about half of her PWHL games this season, driving to Boston, flying to Vancouver and Seattle, and making regular trips to Montreal and Toronto.
“They’ve done that seven-hour drive (to Boston) quite a bit,” Jamie Lee said, “so they don’t miss much.”
This weekend, they enjoy a short 10-minute commute from home to the arena. For the first time, they will be visiting fans, with David’s green Boston jersey from the inaugural season standing out among the sea of red Charge jerseys.
