2025-2026 ACAC Women's Overall Athlete of The Year
Edmonton, AB (April 3, 2026) –
ACAC WOMEN'S OVERALL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, KEYRA BUZIAK:
The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is pleased to announce Keyra Buziak of the Lakeland Rustlers Women’s Hockey team has been selected as the 2025-2026 ACAC Overall Female Player of the Year.
The third year forward from North Battleford was selected from amongst all ACAC programs across all 10 sports within the conference. This follows her recognition as the Women’s Hockey Top Scorer and Player of the Year earlier in March.
Buziak broke the 20-year league record for most goals in a season by hitting the back of the net 28 times, as well as tying the record for most points in a season (43), finishing with three more goals than any player in the league had points. Over the course of the season, she had more than a dozen multi-point games, playing a big part in the Rustlers 23-2 record, first place in the ACAC for the third straight year.
“Keyra is capable of creating offence in any game she plays, elevating those around her,” Head coach Morgan Mann said. “She has a puck on her stick almost all the time, it’s hard to find her without it, so there’s a reason her skill set is so high.”
Mid-season, Buziak and the Rustlers traveled to Quebec to compete against teams from the RSEQ and Atlantic Canada, leading all players in scoring as Lakland outscored their opponents 24-2. She went on to lead all players in postseason scoring with 10 goals and 2 assists, including 5 goals in the ACAC Finals. Following her team’s dramatic 1-0 double-overtime victory on March 15, Buziak was named postseason MVP.
“She has developed into a mature athlete that is become a very loyal and passionate Rustler hockey player,” Mann said. “Although she’s won these offensive awards, she puts her teammates first.”
Off the ice, Buziak led a major fundraising event for her academic program by chairing a committee, generating funds to help off-set college student club activities on Vermilion Campus. She was also involved in the community, coaching minor hockey and coaching at camps and schools.
Other volunteering included helping at the CPCA Chuckwagon finals in August, participating in the youth reading program in Lloydminster schools and taking part in the Rustlers Fights Cancer Hockey game this December, which raised almost $20,000 for the Lloydminster Regional Health Foundation.
Keyra Buziak is in her third season at Lakeland College, where she is taking Crop Technology. This award was recognized at the third game of the ACAC Finals, hosted by Lakeland in Lloydminster, Alberta.
The ACAC Athlete of the Year award is proudly sponsored by Konica Minolta.
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About the ACAC: The ACAC is the governing body for intercollegiate athletics in Alberta. Its mission is to provide competitive collegiate sport experiences, promote academic achievement and be a leader of sport development in Canada.
For more information on the ACAC, please visit our website: www.acac.ab.ca
For additional information, contact:
Mark Kosak, Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference
Chief Executive Officer
403-875-7329
markk@acac.ab.ca
Emily Peterson, Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
emilyp@acac.ab.ca