Eden Murray    #8   Forward,Team Canada U18   Eden Murray of Medicine Hat Alberta (Daughter of Paul Murray of the Murray Automotive Group) has made Team Canada U18 Women's Hockey and takes home Canada’s golden win over the U.S. at the 2012 IIHF U18 World Women’s Championship.       See Q&A with Eden below.

The first step in Canada’s Program of Excellence, the National Women’s Under-18 Team meets twice a year, for a summer camp and three-game series, typically against the U.S., in August, and again for the IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship in January.

 Hockey Runs in the Murray Family

Hockey seems to run in the blood within the Murray family. You can imagine raising 4 boys during our long cold Manitoba winters that they would all be great hockey players. So good in fact,  Paul Murray (Murray dealer in Medicine Hat & Eden's father) played semi pro in Germany and  had very successful seasons with the University of Calgary. Doug Murray (Murray Dealer in Brandon and CEO of the Murray Automotive Group) was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in round 5 #82 overall in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft but fractured his leg veering him into a career in the automotive industry. Doug's daughter Megan is also married Mason Ramond of the Vancouver Canucks.

Cousin to all the Murray brothers is Andy Murray who was coach to the LA Kings for seven years and is the current head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey team of the NCAA Division I Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

 

Q and A with Eden Murray

What is your age?

16

What team will you be playing for, this season?

Edge Mountaineers

What team did you play for, last season?

Edge Mountaineers

What year did you play for Team Alberta? What did the experience do for your development?

I played my first year as an underage at the 2011 Canada Winter Games. My second year I played at the 2011 u18 Nationals. Being able to play for Team Alberta as an underage at the Canada Winter Games really gave me an idea of how hard high level athletes compete. It kind of showed me the ropes as to how hard I need to work to get there. Playing with Team Alberta  in my second year at the u18 Nationals (with my sister Kelly along side me as well for the first two years) really showed me the leadership side of things. Kelly was captain that year and she was the best captain I have ever had. This year I hope to make Team Alberta for my third year and play even more of a leadership role on the team.

What has been the biggest moment of your hockey career, thus far (i.e. U18 nationals, a big goal, meeting someone, a special experience, etc)?

I would have to say (I sort of have two), winning gold at the 2011 Canada Winter Games with Team Alberta, and more recent; making Team Canada this year! 

What is your goal with hockey, in the future?

I would love to play for Team Canada at the 2014 Olympics. If not then, then the 2018 Olympics.

Why is hockey so important to your family?

It's not that hockey is important, it's what it represented to my parents in terms of how they wanted to raise us.  We picked hockey because it was the most fun, and winning was based on skill, effort and team work, which are all great life lessons. My parents wanted us to be fit, to be committed to something greater than ourselves, and to have fun along the way.

What is something unique about you as a person?

I used to speed skate competitively (and I was actually pretty good!)

Who is your favourite hockey player and why?

For boys it's Datsyuk, and for girls (I have three) it's Amanda Kessel, Marie-Philip Poulin, and Jess Campbell. All these players share three or so things in common; they all have tremendous skill, speed, and smarts. They are all the best in their class, and one more important thing, they all work unbelievably hard and make the players around them better because of it. I look up to mostly the three girls, and wish to hopefully be as great of players as them some day. 

Who is the best player in your family and why? 

Well we all play such a different game and different positions too. So maybe my mom and dad should have had one more girl that could combine all of our strengths. Lol. But on a serious note, I think we are all pretty equal.