Carly Jackson

When the Toronto Six hoisted the Isobel Cup in the spring of 2023, Carly Jackson was between the pipes for six of those playoff games, posting a .926 save percentage as part of the run. It was the kind of moment that capped a long road through collegiate hockey, two pre-PWHL professional leagues, and a career that Jackson has described as having "almost ended a few times."

Jackson was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, and came up through the University of Maine Black Bears from 2016 to 2020. The four-year tenure produced a string of program records: in their sophomore year, Jackson set the single-season wins record for Maine with 17 victories. The junior season went further, establishing Black Bears records for wins, saves, save percentage, shutouts, and goals-against average — numbers that left Jackson as the program's all-time leader across those categories by the time they graduated. As a first-year player, Jackson made 25 starts and earned a spot on the Hockey East All-Academic Team. Their final two seasons saw appearances in 28 and 32 games respectively, with a best single-season save percentage of .934.

Before arriving at Maine, Jackson had already represented Canada internationally, earning a silver medal at the 2015 IIHF Women's Under-18 World Championship.

The professional path began with the Buffalo Beauts, where Jackson was selected third overall in the 2020 NWHL Draft. The first season in Buffalo was shortened by COVID-19, but Jackson led all goaltenders in saves while facing the most shots in the league. In the following campaign with the Beauts, Jackson served as an alternate captain and appeared in 17 regular season games, posting a .903 save percentage. The 2020-21 season also brought the NWHL Foundation Award and the first of two Fans' Three Stars of the Season honors, with a second coming in 2022-23. Jackson's visible personality, advocacy work, and fashion drew a broad following that contributed to that fan recognition in both award seasons.

After two seasons with Buffalo, Jackson moved to the Toronto Six for the 2022-23 PHF season, the one that ended with the Isobel Cup. Following the formation of the PWHL, Jackson spent two seasons with PWHL Toronto before signing with the expansion Seattle Torrent on July 9, 2025.

The PWHL years have come with a noticeably expanded support infrastructure. On InGoal Radio Episode 286, recorded during the 2024-25 season, Jackson spoke about what full professional support means in practice ^[1]: "You're getting a plethora of resources. It's not just one thing. You're getting access to a full time goalie coach. Sometimes two, you're getting treatment. We have an AT, a PT, an RMT." Jackson also described what that shift from the pre-PWHL era looked like from the inside: "We all have the support and we're able to pour ourselves back into the game."

That same episode went into the technical side of Jackson's development under goalie coaches Brad Kirkwood and Brad Fogal, including a detailed discussion of how Jackson overhauled their stance and movement patterns — a conversation worth hearing in full ^[1]. Jackson also noted a background that informs those conversations: "I have an AT background. I'm actually certified in The US as an athletic trainer."

Earlier, following the Isobel Cup win with the Toronto Six, Jackson joined InGoal Radio Episode 211 alongside Elaine Chuli to discuss the championship ^[2].

InGoal Magazine has covered Carly Jackson in two podcast appearances.