Perseverance pays off for UPEI captain Chloe McCabe

It wasn’t always easy but Chloe McCabe has proven dreams can be chased and realized.

Through hard work, perseverance and never losing sight of the prize, McCabe is authoring an inspiring story – and making history along the way – with the UPEI Panthers of the AUS Women’s Hockey Conference.

As the Panthers open the 2026-27 regular season at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown against Mount Allison on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m., McCabe will begin her third season as UPEI team captain – a first for the women’s hockey program.

“A three-year captain at the AUS level never happens,” said Panthers head coach Sean Fisher. “Chloe’s a really cool story – walking on, red-shirting and then captain for three years. Her journey has been a long one.”

Now 23, McCabe is in her sixth season with the Panthers. But since the centre did not play any games – and only practised in Year 1 – McCabe did not use up a year of eligibility. So, the 2026-27 campaign marks McCabe’s fifth and final year of U Sports eligibility and the opportunity to write the final few chapters of her story.

McCabe began playing games with the Panthers in her second year with the program. It coincided with Fisher’s first season at UPEI and the head coach has also played a big role in McCabe’s story.

“His coaching style is what got me in the lineup,” said McCabe. “He believes in internal competition within a group and it’s not what you did for him last year or in previous games, but what you’re doing for him and the team right now, which allowed me to climb up the lineup and kept me motivated.

“He gave me an opportunity which I’ll forever be grateful for.”

Once given an opportunity, McCabe continued with a relentless work ethic, quickly earning the respect of teammates and coaches. By her third year of eligibility – and her fourth with the program – McCabe was named team captain.

“I was not really expecting it whenever I was named captain,” said McCabe. “Sean didn’t tell me beforehand or didn’t give me any type of indication that it was going to happen.

“That made my experience surreal, just hearing that for the first time in the dressing room.”

McCabe admitted to being a little nervous in her first year as captain. As McCabe gained experience and got older, she became more and more comfortable.

“It’s a role that I don’t take lightly,” said McCabe. “I always say that leadership is a responsibility, but it’s a privilege at the same time and it’s a privilege that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

“To be looked highly of and thought highly of by your teammates; relied upon by your teammates and your coaching staff, and I’m just going to try and enjoy it here for my last season and leave the program in a better place than I found it.”

McCabe prefers to lead by example rather than dictatorship.

Along with not playing any games in Year 1, McCabe had to deal with being scratched at times in Year 2 along with proving she belonged in U Sports. McCabe took advantage of the opportunities and is a go-to player in all situations. Looking back, McCabe feels her road may have been a blessing in disguise.

“I didn’t come in and play on the first-line power play and get everything handed to me in any type of way at all,” said McCabe. “I think, for me, I can relate to every player in the dressing room.

“I know what they’re feeling when they’re scratched. I know how much pressure they have when they’re first-line power play; when they have to go out for the shootout or overtime. I think my story, especially, helps me a lot with the captaincy.”

Fisher credited McCabe’s strong leadership skills to her upbringing.

“She’s the perfect blend of her parents (Scott and Joan McCabe) now that I’ve gotten to know her parents a little bit,” said Fisher. “She’s just very kind; salt of the earth; hard-working; expects nothing to be handed to her; has earned everything, and gets along well with everybody.

“She’s kind of that conduit in the dressing room that can connect every corner and connect with people from all different walks of life. She’s been critical to the progress of this program over the last few years.”

Regardless of the ups and downs, McCabe never wanted to be anywhere else – or doubted her desire to be a Panther. When it came time to apply for university, McCabe did not reach out to any other programs.

“I wanted to play for my province,” said McCabe. “I’m a homebody.

“This community has given me so much. I never went away to prep school. I stayed here on the Island where my father coached me all the way up. My sister (Cassidy) played for UPEI. My cousin (Tanner McCabe) played on the men’s team for UPEI, and there are photos of me whenever I’m a real young girl in that tunnel where the Panthers come out.

“(UPEI) was my favourite team, and I’m shaking their hands and that meant so much to me as a young girl, and I wanted to be a Panther so bad. It really means a lot to me to give back to this community because this community gave so much to me. Playing for my hometown and my community is really special.”

Now as McCabe walks through that same tunnel from UPEI’s dressing room and greets young fans, she often thinks back to being that young girl.

“We have a lot of little girls that are in the tunnel, and I try to shake all their hands or fist-bump all their hands,” said McCabe. “I just know how that felt and how much that meant for me whenever I was younger.

“When you’re older, you don’t think it means as much, but to them it’s the world. They look up to us – they want to be us someday – so I cherish that in a different type of way.”

Follow are some facts about UPEI Panthers centre Chloe McCabe:

McCabe grew up playing minor hockey in the Charlottetown area.

She has recorded 54 points – 17 goals and 37 assists – in 119 regular-season and playoff games with the Panthers since the 2021-22 season.

“For me, I’ve always been a straight-line player,” said McCabe. “I don’t get too fancy. I think the small details are what wins hockey games, so I really try to emphasize those. I think I’m a good skater; I’m a really, really hard worker; I think I see the ice very well; I would describe myself as a playmaker.

“Sometimes I overplay the puck and my coach was like, ‘You got to just shoot that; you’re right inside the house.’

“I’m just trying to make my make my teammates around me better. Anyone that I play with, I just try to make, them better around me.”

She earned a biology degree at UPEI and has been accepted into the accelerated nursing program.

“I don’t think I belong like behind a desk,” said McCabe. “I think working as a nurse, where you’re on your feet all the time, there’s a little bit of an adrenaline rush similar to athletics in that type of way, and I like to help people.”

Jason Simmonds is a sports reporter at The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at jsimmonds@postmedia.com and followed on X @JpsportsJason.