A York University Lions women's hockey alumna will move directly from her collegiate career to her professional career – but she won't have to move very far.
 
Lions 2021 graduate Courtney Gardiner, a former OUA all-star and silver medallist, will join the PHF's Toronto Six for the 2022-23 season. This comes after Gardiner joined the Six on a professional tryout agreement during the OUA's winter season pause, where she practiced with the Six but did not appear in a PHF game. That will change in 2022-23 when she joins the team on a permanent basis.
 
Gardiner, a 24-year-old from Goderich, Ont., officially signs with the Six after four U SPORTS seasons competing for the Lions. From 2017-22, the right-handed shooter recorded 49 points, tallying 23 goals, while adding 26 assists. In January, she signed with the team on a professional tryout agreement, but did not appear in a PHF game.
 
As a team captain, the Disaster & Emergency Management graduate completed her Lions career in 2021-22 as an offensive force, playing in 17 games and recording 12 points (five goals, seven assists).
 
She was named an alternate captain in her third year and collected a career-high 22 points in 24 games, which included eight points in five playoff games. Her postseason stat line topped the OUA and helped lead the Lions to a silver medal in the OUA. As a freshman in 2017-18, she competed in 23 contests and produced five points, including a battle against the Waterloo Warriors in which she collected her first career goal as a Lioon.
 
Off the field of play, Gardiner was recognized with U SPORTS academic all-Canadian honours for the 2019-20 season, and was a winner of the York Sport Council award in 2021-22 for her contributions to the Lion Pride.
 
Gardiner joins fellow Lions alum Taylor Davison on the Six roster. Davison, who was selected fifth overall in the 2021 NWHL draft, was York's leading 2019-20 scorer from the blue line.