We often hear from women who have spent a decade or two navigating the hockey world, and I've introduced you to many already on this podcast but today I am thrilled to bring you a completely fresh perspective from someone brand new to the game! Kaylee Steele has been by her fiance (soon-to-be husband) goalie Rico DiMatteo's side through a winding NCAA journey across three universities before he made the jump to the pros last season with Pensacola and Rapid City. From navigating a long distance relationship to managing a remote social media career, Kaylee is getting a crash course in what it truly means to build a life on the move.

In this episode, we get incredibly real about the unedited, unglamorous side of this industry, especially when you are a self-proclaimed control freak dealing with the unpredictable minor leagues. We dive into Rico's medical miracle of a comeback after two major hip surgeries, the mystery of why goalies take 45 minutes to leave the locker room when they didn't even play, and a terrifying freak accident with their puppy that showed them the beautiful rallying power of the hockey community.

Through every chaotic, mid-season trade and canceled flight, Kaylee is proving that when it is just the two of you against the world, the bond you build can survive ANY curveball!

Did something in this conversation I had with Kaylee resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• The hockey world coincidence that proved to us right away just how incredibly small and interconnected this community really is

• How Kaylee's original plan to be a wingwoman at a college party completely backfired, in the best way possible, for both her and Rico

• The long-distance hustle she navigated balancing a full-time job and online school while living with her future in-laws

• Rico's grueling injury journey through two separate hip labrum surgeries, and how it altered the trajectory of his career before it even started

• The untraditional training method and mindset shift that truly gave Rico his hockey career back and inspired his new mentoring business

• Welcome to pro hockey: the emotional rollercoaster of getting engaged, getting a call-up, and having a flight canceled while the car was packed for the airport

• The way Kaylee is balancing a grueling 40-hour work week with pregame meals, dog walks, and arriving at the rink by 5:15 PM

• Busting the "glamorous lifestyle" myth and shedding a light on the unedited reality of being a hockey partner

• Kaylee's thoughts on adjusting to the heavy ECHL game load, weekday matchups, and the loneliness of surviving 11-day road trips as a rookie partner

• The terrifying night their adopted puppy broke his leg at the rink, and the miracle of a season ticket holder opening her vet clinic at midnight to save the day

• The great dressing room mystery: why it takes goalies 45 minutes to exit the locker room on nights they sat on the bench

• We dive into the financial and logistical gap of team-sponsored moves before you are officially married

• How the threat of sudden mid-season trades builds an unbreakable, "us-against-the-world" bond early in a relationship
  
  

LINKS:

Kaylee's Instagram & TikTok

Rico's Hockey Profile