From Crowchild to Milan: Gabriella Durante is set to make her Olympic debut
By Maggie Hsu, February 23 2026—
Calgary has played a role in almost every step of Gabriella Durante’s hockey journey. From her development as a young goaltender in the city to her impactful five-year-long career with the University of Calgary Dinos women’s hockey team, the city has remained the constant in a career that has now taken her across the Atlantic — and onto the Olympic stage.
The ultimate risk and reward
The former Dinos women’s hockey goaltender has been named to Team Italy’s women’s hockey roster for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, marking the culmination of a long-term gamble that required her to leave Calgary after just one game last season in pursuit of Olympic qualification.
“It was a big risk,” Durante said in an interview with the Gauntlet. “But I just knew that I would regret not taking the risk and going to the Olympics, which is still the biggest stage for women’s hockey.”
Durante left the Dinos after game one of what was supposed to be her senior season, opting instead to move to Italy to meet eligibility requirements for the Italian national team. The decision, while abrupt on the surface, was anything but impulsive.
The process began nearly five years ago, when Durante, her father, and her brother applied for Italian passports. With the 2026 Olympic Winter Games set to take place in Milan, Italy was guaranteed automatic entry into the women’s hockey tournament.
“At the start, it was kind of just a dream,” Durante said. “We applied knowing the Olympics were in Milan, and then nothing really happened for a long time.”
After years of waiting, Durante finally received her Italian passport in the summer of 2024. That’s when the dream became a real, tangible possibility.
“Once we got it, it was like, ‘Okay, how do I actually make this happen?’” she said. After a series of phone calls, Durante connected with Italy’s national team head coach, who explained that she would need to play eight months of hockey in Italy to qualify for Olympic roster selection. The timeline was tight, the stakes were high, and the cost was high.
An abrupt finish for the penultimate pursuit
The move meant walking away from her final year with the Dinos — a program and community she deeply valued. “It was really hard leaving,” Durante said. “I love the Dinos. It was supposed to be my last year, and I loved playing for Josh [Gossling] and being with my teammates. It was pretty heartbreaking because it came to an end quicker than I thought it would.”
Before making the final decision, Durante consulted those closest to her, including Dinos head coach Gossling. Rather than discouraging her, Gossling fully supported the opportunity. The risk was amplified by uncertainty. Despite moving to Italy, Durante did not receive immediate national team opportunities.
“There were no guarantees,” she said. “I didn’t even make a national team camp until February of the next year.” Now, with her Olympic selection confirmed, the sacrifice — both personal and professional — feels validated.
“Making this roster means that much more because of the sacrifices I made — and even the sacrifices the Dinos made,” she said. “I put them in a really tough spot leaving that late, so this feels like it was all worth it.”
Continuing the student-athlete life
Durante’s journey to the Olympics didn’t just involve hockey. At the same time she was adjusting to life and professional hockey in Italy, she was also completing her master’s degree through the University of Calgary.
“It definitely wasn’t easy,” she said. “Being in Italy and trying to schedule meetings at night because of the time change was really tough.” Despite the challenges, Durante credits her graduate supervisors for making the dual pursuit possible.
“They told me, ‘You have to do this, and we’ll make it work,’” she said. “It was frustrating at times, but again, it was all worth it.”
She successfully defended her thesis this past September. “It kind of jeopardized my degree a little bit,” Durante said. “But I defended, got the degree — and made the Olympics — so I can’t complain too much.”
A full-circle moment and reconnecting with heritage
Despite representing Italy internationally, Durante’s connection to Calgary remains strong. Born and raised in the city, she credits the local hockey environment for her development as a goaltender. “Growing up in Calgary and being a goalie, I was lucky to have a lot of high-level opportunities,” she said. “That foundation helped prepare me for moments like this.”
Donning the Team Italy jersey holds deep personal significance for Durante, whose paternal grandparents emigrated from Calabria, Italy, to Canada. “It means a lot to represent Italy because it’s representing my family and my grandparents, who sacrificed so much to make a better life in Canada,” she said.
Italian culture was a constant presence in her upbringing. “The traditions were always a big part of our family,” Durante said. “A lot of the routines my teammates grew up with in Italy are things I grew up with here.”
With that, her family’s reaction to the Olympic news has been overwhelming.
“I think I’ve converted all of the Canadian side into Team Italy fans,” she said with a laugh. “The Italian side is probably more excited than I am.”
Team Italy is prepped to make a splash at the Olympics
Since December, Durante has been training with Team Italy in Montreal as part of the team’s Olympic centralization, a process that has included up to ten on-ice and off-ice sessions per week. While the Olympic stage still feels distant, she expects the reality to set in once she arrives in the athletes’ village. “It’s been intense,” she said. “But it actually feels like we’re training for something really big, and that’s exciting.”
While Italy enters the tournament as an underdog, Durante believes the team’s identity will surprise opponents. “We’re faster than people might expect,” she said. “And we play with a lot of heart. We’ve really come together as a family.”
That belief fuels the team’s ambition.
“We’ve been saying that we want to shock the hockey world,” Durante said. “Italy isn’t really on the map for women’s hockey right now, but people don’t really know what’s coming.”
As for her personal Olympic goals, Durante is focused less on outcomes and more on presence. “I just want to be where my feet are,” she said. “If I’m in the village, I’m there. If I’m on the ice, I’m on the ice.”
With a journal and film camera already packed, Durante is determined to take in every moment — a fitting approach for an athlete who took a leap of faith years ago and landed on the world’s biggest stage.
“I’ve dreamed of the Olympics ever since I started playing hockey,” she said. “Now that it’s real, I just want to enjoy it and play the best I can.”