Swift Current’s Laynee Rondeau will follow a long line of U18 AAA Wildcats to join the Clarkson University Golden Knights women’s hockey team after committing to join the Golden Knights for the 2028-29 season.
Rondeau will follow in the footsteps of Wildcats Kali Gillanders, Katelyn Ptolemy, Shelby Nisbet, and Baylee Kirwan to join the Golden Knights in Potsdam, NY. Rondeau’s family billeted Kirwan for four seasons before she played at Clarkson from 2021-2025.
“It was a really good hockey opportunity and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. My billet sister, Baylee Kirwan, she went there and she really enjoyed it. I felt like from what I heard it was a really good fit for me. I was really excited any time I would talk to the coaches. I had a gut feeling I knew that was the place I wanted to go ever since pretty much Baylee told me about it a long time ago.”
Rondeau still has two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Wildcats after an outstanding rookie campaign in 2025-26. She finished tied for second in league scoring with 37 points in 37 games and was second with 22 assists. She added five goals in six playoff outings as the Wildcats advanced to the championship series before losing to the Battlefords Sharks.
Rondeau is looking forward to two more seasons with her hometown team.
“Yeah for sure. I really like the community we have. I think our team is going to be really good next year with the new girls we’re bringing up and the second-years and third-years that were really strong last year when we got all the way to the finals. I think we’re going to be really good the next two years and I don’t see a point in leaving when we have such a good thing going in Swift,” she explained.
Read the full story in an upcoming edition of the Southwest Booster
