PLAYER PROFILE – Renata Fast, a Toronto Sceptres defender, can both score goals and defend at a high level for the Sceptres. Part of the original Sceptres roster, Fast has made her name with the organization. She was born on October 6, 1994, in Hamilton, Ontario, and was brought up in Burlington, Ontario.
Renata Fast: All-Around Toronto Sceptres Defender
Childhood
Fast was the youngest of four children in her family. She talks about her love for ice hockey and for Canada (Source: Preferred Publishing of Homes and Lifestyle):
“When you’re a kid, and you’re watching the Olympic opening ceremonies – it’s so grand,” says Fast, an Olympian, collegiate champ, and Canadian Women’s Hockey League star. “It’s so amazing. And growing up, I remember sitting on my parents’ bed with my older brother when they announced Canada was coming into the stadium.”
Her love for ice hockey would continue as she was given every opportunity to play many sports. However, for Fast, one of the sports she grew fond of in particular was ice hockey (Source: Preferred Publishing of Homes and Lifestyle):
“I just fell in love with it,” she says of hockey. “[And] I just played because I loved it. I like having fun… I’m competitive. I didn’t really think that much of it [beyond fun] until High School, and then things got a little more serious when I realized that I could get a scholarship, and then once I got a scholarship, I was like okay, maybe I can make the national team.”
Fast started playing ice hockey at the age of nine, which is somewhat late compared to other ice hockey players (Source: Steve Dangle of Sportsnet):
In the same article, Fast talked about winning the provincial and league championships in only her third year of playing ice hockey.
She did get a soccer scholarship, but decided to pursue ice hockey instead. Her favourite athlete is Becky Kellar, and her favourite team is the Pittsburgh Penguins (Source: Olympic Website).
Clarkson Golden Knights (2012-16)
In her rookie season (2012-13), Fast was strong defensively as well as offensively. She had 10 points, including eight assists. Fast also earned an assist in the three ECAC Hockey playoff games to sweep Rensselaer on March 1-2. She also scored power-play goals against UVM and St. Lawrence.
With the sophomore season (2013-14), she played a key role in the team winning the NCAA Championship. She helped the Knights get the ECAC Hockey regular season title. Fast also had a +36, which is a big jump from the +7 she had in her rookie season. She also assisted in the game-winning goal against Dartmouth on February 28 and earned her way into the ECAC Hockey All-Academic team.
Then, in her junior year (2014-15), Fast became the assistant captain of the team. She took part in 29 games and was a First-Team ECAC All-Star. Fast was tied for fourth in points among ECAC Hockey defensemen with four goals and fourteen assists. Her most noteworthy game might have been scoring two power-play goals against Dartmouth on February 28. She had a +14 rating for that season.
Her last season was the senior year (2015-16). She is the recipient of Clarkson’s Booster Club’s Unsung Hero Award. This award is given to the player who puts her team first and serves as a fantastic role model to her teammates and her community. The assistant captain took part in 36 games and scored the quickest goal in NCAA tournament history for the game-winner against Quinnipiac in the NCAA quarterfinal game. Fast would later say that her goal scored against Quinnipiac was one of her favourite goals in Dangle’s Sportsnet article, dated back in 2017:
Fast also tied the team lead with seven power-play points on March 12. She made the ECAC Hockey Weekly Honor Roll on February 9 and was a nominee for ECAC Hockey’s Student-Athlete of the Year (Source: Clarkson Golden Knights).
She made the ECAC Hockey All-Academic team in all four years with her college team.
Source: Clarkson Golden Knights
Professional Career
Toronto Furies (2016-19)
Fast’s first team was the Toronto Furies. Her most successful year with the Furies might have been in the 2016-17 season. In that season, she scored four goals and dished out five assists for a total of nine points.
The other noteworthy season Fast had was in the 2018-19 season, where she has a total of eight points with two goals and six assists.
Sommer West, who was Fast’s first of three coaches with the Furies, had this to say about her (Source: Mike Murphy of The Ice Garden):
“Renata is a quiet leader and pushes teammates to the best of their abilities and beyond.”
Unfortunately, for Fast, she was unable to win the Clarkson Cup with the Furies, in what would end up being the last years of the franchise’s and the league’s existence.
Toronto Sceptres (2024-Present)
Gina Kingsbury, General Manager of PWHL Toronto (now the Toronto Sceptres), talked about what Fast brings to the organization when she was signed to the team (Ali Bologna of the PWHL):
Fast really played well in her first season with her PWHL team, winning the PWHL (W) Second All-Star Team award. She also played a major role in PWHL Toronto finishing with the best record in the PWHL regular season in its inaugural season.
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Fast would continue her success with the newly branded Toronto Sceptres team. With the Sceptres, Fast dished out 16 assists and two goals in the 2024-25 PWHL season. This included scoring a game-winning goal on February 11 against the Minnesota Frost.
On May 14, Fast was nominated as one of the three PWHL of the Year Finalists (Source: PWHL Website).
Hockey Canada (2015-Present)
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Fast has played with the national team since 2015. She has played over 100 games for the national team, with her first-ever game happening in the 2015 4 Nations Cup. From there, Fast made her name with the national team, which included her performance in the IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medal game in 2022 and the tournament in general.
Troy Ryan, coach of both the Sceptres and Hockey Canada, said this about Fast (Source: Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun):
“You can see the confidence in her now,” Ryan said. “Scoring goals, the plays she is making at the blue line. She has all those tools, so really, it’s just the confidence to do it.
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The 2022 World Championships was one of three gold medals she would win in the World Championships, along with three silver and one bronze medal in the World Championships. Fast also won a silver medal in 2018 and a gold medal in 2022.
She will be a key player for the Sceptres for their future seasons in the PWHL.
Photo Credit: Hockey Canada X Account on April 11, 2024.
