After A Year Of Training, Tory Mariano Is Getting Back In The Game To Fulfill Her PWHL Hopes
· Yahoo Sports
Tory Mariano was considered a solid defensive prospect heading into the 2025 PWHL Draft. She'd just finished her senior season at Northeastern University, capping off four solid seasons of development and growth.
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But to finish her degree, Mariano made the difficult decision to bypass the 2025 draft, staying at school and training alone. Now, with her degree in education in hand, Mariano is again turning her focus to the game she loves. The year she spent away from the team game however, taught her personal lessons she's carrying into the 2026 PWHL Draft, and the opportunity to compete for a roster spot with a team next Fall.
"To obtain my degree, I had to stay and train by myself during this final year of school," Mariano said about her fifth year at Northeastern. "This experience has shown me hardships and times of discomfort but in doing so, I have strengthened my discipline and appreciation of the training process. During this time of long-term development, I had to self-motivate and improve without the competitive nature of having a season or a team."
"I have taken pride in my preparation and it has shown me the value of doing the little things that contribute to growth," she said. "It has shown me why I am doing things, why they matter, and reinforced my long-term goals within hockey. Taking this experience back into a competitive setting will have made me a more reliable teammate who is intentional and understands the preparations needed to win."
In her final season at Northeastern, Mariano recorded 16 points from the blueline in 37 games.
Mariano considers herself a defender who is reliable and takes care of her own zone first. She takes pride in being physical, and making her team more difficult to play against. Mariano also believes she can pick her moments to contribute offensively, while still holding true to her defensive acumen.
Tory Mariano highlightsLast season, another Northeastern grade, Peyton Anderson, returned to hockey herself after a year away making the Minnesota Frost lineup as a free agent. Mariano is excited for her own opportunity in the league.
"The PWHL is the embodiment of what everyone has been hoping was the next step for women's ice hockey," said Mariano. "It represents all of the work that players and those behind the scenes have put in for this league to finally come together. To have an opportunity to play in the league would mean everything to the younger version of myself who began hockey all those years ago. Playing in the PWHL also reflects on being apart of something bigger than myself and contributing to the standard of the league in any way possible."