Keely Brown

Keely Brown was born in Kitchener, Ontario. As a goalie in ringette, ice hockey, and inline hockey, she has been a formidable competitor, and has amassed an impressive list of awards at the provincial, national, and international levels.

Keely started playing ringette at age 6 with the Kitchener Ringette Association, and worked to hone her skills as a goalie when there were few goaltending coaches in the sport. Her hard work contributed to her first Provincial Championship win in 1988 backstopping the Kitchener Petites, a first for her hometown in this age group. Keely continued to excel as a netminder in Kitchener and was a Provincial and National Champion in the 1991-92 season and a National silver medalist in the 1992-93 season. During the early 90’s until she left for university, Keely shared her talents as the Head Goalie Instructor at the Kitchener Ringette School.

Keely pursued her love of the sport to Alberta while she helped found the National Ringette League in 2002-2003. Just a small sample of her accomplishments includes 9 gold and 8 silver at the Canadian Ringette Championships, Goaltender of the Year awards for the NRL, and several All Star and Defensive Game Star awards. At the World Ringette Championships, she collected Final Game MVP, 2010; Gold Medal Game MVP, and “Top Player of the Tournament” for Team Canada, 2007; and Gold Medal Game MVP, and Top Goalie of the Tournament, 2002. Keely also coaches at the junior and senior levels of the National Team, and has been inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame.

Keely had a parallel ice hockey career. At her Kitchener high school, she was the first female to play boys hockey in Central Western Ontario (CWOSSA) competition. She chose University of Toronto’s varsity hockey program and then helped form the National Women’s Hockey League in the late 1990s when Ontario and Quebec women’s hockey merged their leagues. She spent a few years playing in the GTA for this NWHL, and when she moved to Edmonton, she played in the Western Women’s Hockey League. Again, she collected recognition for her accomplishments in women’s hockey: WWHL Top Goalie 2008-09, WWHL Championship MVP and Championship Top Goalie 2005; and CIAU Championships Top Goalie (University of Toronto), 1999.

At the same time Keely was playing ringette and ice hockey, she added roller or inline hockey during her first year at university. This third sport quickly led to several trips and tournaments around North America and the World. In 2002, the World Championships for Women started in Rochester, New York where, as the goalie, she helped Team Canada capture the first of 4 Gold Medals with a 2-0 win in the Championship game. Wins also included silver and bronze medals over multiple years, and now Keely is an Assistant Coach with the Canadian Women’s Inline Hockey Team. Keely attended World Championships held each summer including in the USA, France, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, China, Spain and Italy. In 2022, she was also Assistant Coach for the Canadian Men’s Inline Hockey Team, who placed 5th at the World Games in Alabama.

Keely continues to encourage kids to experience ringette. As a player and coach, she knows firsthand what she wished she’d had as a beginner. She developed “The Keely” Ringette Goalie Trapper, a goalie glove just for ringette; co-owns and runs a company that holds Ringette goaltending clinics and camps across Canada, including in Kitchener; and has written books on ringette goaltending.

Keely second love is law. She graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School, was called to the Ontario Bar in 2003, the Alberta Bar in 2004, and became the first in-house lawyer for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) in 2006. Keely now heads up the Legal Department for OEG Sports & Entertainment, which includes the Edmonton Oilers, AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, ICE District, and Rogers Place.