In January of 2018, Izzy Palumbo of Golden made headlines when she played in goal for her hometown Rockets at 15.
Three years later, Palumbo joined the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens women’s team in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). Among her accomplishments was winning the ACAC championship twice, as well as being selected for the ACAC Second All-Conference team. Selections were made by ACAC coaches through a ranking system, taking into account factors such as statistical performance, impact on team success, skill level, and consistency throughout the season. She also served on RDP’s Student-Athlete Council this year (2024/2025), as well as being involved in various community outreach initiatives.
Palumbo spoke to the KIJHL about her Rockets experience and collegiate career.
KIJHL: What do you remember about your experience playing three games as an affiliate player with the Rockets when you were 15?
IP: It was a pretty surreal experience when I look back on it. I had every family member travel from Alberta come to that game. That was pretty cool. It was a packed rink that night, the busiest I’ve ever seen it and I grew up going to Rockets games. That was pretty awesome. They ended up having two wins and one was because of an illegal player. The game I played was their only real win of the year.
Palumbo’s parents still have the game puck and her jersey in the basement along with other hockey memorabilia of hers and her sister.
KIJHL: Did trying to pursue junior hockey enter your mind?
IP: After that season I went to the main camp the next summer. I actually made the Rockets team and traveled for all of pre-season. The Junior A cut guys came back and then I got cut from the team. That year there was a new coach. I did make the team because I remember my mom crying when I told her (she laughs). It was very short.
KIJHL: Did you see yourself as a role model to younger females getting into the game?
IP: Yeah. I was still young at the time and didn’t realize what was fully brewing from it. I have a photo from 2018 with a girl who was about 12 and played minor hockey – she made a sign. That was pretty cool to look back on that. There were a lot of girls that reached out to me in the Invermere and Revelstoke community because I played in both. There were many my age and younger reaching out and it opened up a whole different world that I didn’t even realize I was putting in the work for stepping stones. There was a lot of positive feedback, even from parents. There was a lot of positivity that came from the younger girl community – the girl-sport community.
KIJHL: What was your career with the Queens like?
IP: I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve been playing since I was four years old and it’s a little crazy to think that it’ll be done now because it’s been so much of my life. The time here too with the Queens has been pretty awesome.
I’ve lived with a girl on the team for five years and we’ve had fun – getting to know all the girls throughout the year. This year being in a leadership role was a little different – it was awesome to share my wisdom with the younger girls. It’s kind of sad it’s coming to an end, but I’m ready to move on with life. It was a good run.
KIJHL: Was there a season that you were the Queen’s No.1 goalie?
IP: Last year I would say I was the starter because my teammate was a first-year. (Palumbo posted a 10-4-0 record with a 1.40 GAA and a .946 SP.)
KIJHL: What was it like to win two ACAC championships (2021/2022 and 2022/2023) and are those the highlights of your career?
IP: I’d say that would be up there for the highlights. The first year was a shorter season because of COVID, so we only played 15 games. We had an amazing team and after winning the first two games of the series, we won Game 3 1-0. We scored with 10 minutes left in the third period. We won it on home ice and it was absolutely unbelievable. Then the next year, same thing. We had a really strong team with mostly the same girls from the year before. We won in NAIT and our men’s team actually was playing NAIT as well and they were at home and won that night too. That was crazy and a lot of fun.
KIJHL: What’s in store for your future?
IP: I am in a business degree – I got a Bachelor of Commerce and then I’m getting my Bachelor of Business Administration degree next fall. I’ll be done next December. Then in January, I’m going to study to become a realtor. I’m strongly considering going back to Golden for a couple years at least and working as a realtor there.
