Morden enjoying final stretch of university hockey career with Alberta

By Lethbridge Herald on February 12, 2026.

Nathan Reiter

Lethbridge Herald

If there’s one word to describe Jadynn Morden as a hockey player, it would be fearless.

The Lethbridge product is in her fifth and final season with the University of Alberta Pandas women’s hockey team. In 123 career games, Morden has registered 39 goals, 31 assists along with 180 penalty minutes.

Pandas head coach Howie Draper says she fits the prototypical mould of a power forward.

“If I can picture a player that I feel has had some success in the NHL as an example, I would picture Milan Lucic. Partly jokingly, when she started with us, that was always my thing is you are Lucic, you’re not McDavid. She’s big, she’s strong and she’s got a great shot. She creates havoc when she’s on the ice.”

Morden is teammates with fellow Lethbridge product Hayleigh Craig. While Craig is known for her calm and cool demeanor, Draper says Morden isn’t afraid to stir the pot while on the ice.

“She’s different from Hayleigh in that she’s very emotional, but that’s one of the reasons why we brought her to the team. We wanted her to ruffle the feathers of the other team to a certain extent. We wanted her to inspire her teammates by going out and just raising hell when she can, and she does that. She’s outstanding in front of the net because again, she’s a bigger player that’s stronger and I think she relishes the opportunity to be in the physical battles on an individual basis. When she has the opportunity, she’s got a great shot and she’s found the back of the net for us on many occasions over the course of her five years.”

Draper adds that Morden has been able to improve each and every year throughout her U SPORTS career.

“One of the biggest things that I’ve noted in her growth was just trying to play a little bit more of a simple game. I think she was able to, like a lot of players that come up to the next level, they were able to utilize and exploit the extra room and the extra time and space at the U18 level. When they get to us, there’s just not as much time and space, and they’re playing against players that are just as strong and just as fast. We challenged her to simplify her game, to play a stronger game, use her speed and power, get to the net and get into the tough areas and get pucks deep and then recover them in the corners and those kinds of things. I really feel that when she’s had the most success with us, she’s completely embraced that side of the game.”

Like Craig, Morden also made the decision to move away from Lethbridge to pursue her hockey dream at a young age. 

“It was difficult.” Morden said. “I actually moved away at 15 and I went to Banff Hockey Academy when that was a thing and then I made the decision to switch to Lloydminster. Going to Lloyd was a lot easier than going to Banff for me. I didn’t really know anybody, but I did go with Hayleigh. We’ve been best friends ever since then, so it’s been a lot easier doing a lot of things with her and just getting to experience those times with her.”

Morden played boys hockey up until U15. In her final season playing with the boys, she recorded five goals and six assists in 34 games for the Lethbridge U15 AA Hurricanes. She also had three assists in six playoff games.

When asked why she played with boys instead of girls her own age, Morden says the more physical nature of the game suited her own playing style.  

“I think it just felt more competitive to me. Obviously it’s all personal choice. I just felt more comfortable and connected with the boys. I really enjoyed the physicality. I’m still a really physical player, so it just made it kind of easier for me to be the type of player that I am. I think that the skill and the coaching in the boys’ side was just a little more advanced, unfortunately, but I know that it’s getting a lot better in minor hockey.”

Morden is currently studying education and kinesiology and plans to become a teacher once she graduates. On top of playing and studying, Morden has also helped as an assistant coach with the OHA Edmonton U18 Female Prep team along with Hayleigh Craig.   

“I was in engineering in my first year, and then kind of wanted to stay in the activity side of things and sports, so I went into kinesiology and education. I just really enjoyed coaching. I was coaching a lot at the time. I still continue to coach a lot right now. I just wanted to give anybody, whether it’s a girl or boy, the opportunity to be coached by somebody that’s kind of what I needed when I was growing up. I have coached a lot of boys teams, but I’ve also coached girls teams, and I think that it’s a really good balance to have to be able to coach both.”

The Pandas close out the regular season this weekend against their crosstown rival MacEwan Griffins. The Canada West playoffs begin on Feb. 20.