Congratulations to Keira Johnson on her commitment to play NCAA Division 1 women's hockey for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers
The Central York Panthers would like to congratulate our 2025-26 Jr Panther Keira Johnson on her commitment to play NCAA Division 1 women's hockey for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers. Keira is an outstanding student-athlete that is making a major impact with our Panthers High Performance (PHP) program. Keira is in her third season with the Jr Panthers and has been a huge reason for the success of the Jr Panthers over the past 3 years. We know how much effort Keira put into getting to this point and we couldn’t be happier for her. This was always a huge dream for Keira and she has had to overcome some big challenges to get to this point. What a great accomplishment for such a dedicated and committed Panther!
(January 29, 2026 Aurora, Ontario) – The Central York Girls Hockey Association are thrilled to announce that their 2025-26 Junior Panther Keira Johnson has committed to play NCAA Division 1 women’s hockey for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers (RPI) for the 2026-27 season.
Keira has become an integral part of the Central York Panthers Jr program during her time with us. Keira leads in many ways both on and off the ice. So much so that her teammates chose her to be
their Captain this year. Keira has been a key piece to our offensive team play that has put our program near the top of the highly competitive OWHL U22 Elite League in all offensive categories over the past 3 years. Keira’s extraordinary speed, relentless compete level and high hockey IQ allows us to play a very offensive style of game and that style allowed the Rensselaer coaches to see what a great fit Keira would be at the university level. Keira combined her offensive style with a drive and determination on the ice that made her very hard to contain. We were looking to be a grittier team to play against this year and Keira has adapted her playing style to give us that element. Keira has combined her speed with a relentless drive on the ice to help her become a standout on one of the best teams in the OWHA U22 Elite league.
“I’m extremely grateful for the Junior Panthers and the culture that Coach Steve has created here. Playing for the Junior Panthers and the CYGHA has been an experience I will forever cherish. In my time playing for Central York I have gained countless friendships that will last a lifetime. Being a part of the Jr program here at Central York has set me up not only on the ice but has also prepared me for off the ice. The culture here makes you a better person and gets you ready to take that next step both on the ice and off the ice. I am so grateful to have had this experience with the Panthers and making so many sincere friendships throughout the process. I am so happy to have been a part of the legacy that the Jr Panthers are creating here. Once a Panther, always a Panther. Thank you CYP!” exclaimed Johnson.
Bryan Vines and the entire RPI coaching staff have been watching Keira’s progress as a Panther over the past 2 years and they are thrilled that she is joining their program.
Central York’s U22AA(Jr) Head Coach Steve Dempsey is very excited about this commitment. “Keira was an easy pick for our team. She brought an offensive ability that we needed. To our surprise we have seen Keira become a very gritty player over the course of last year as well as this year and that was exactly what we needed to add to our line up. Keira really blossomed over the course of the year and she became a big inspiration to our team with how much she bought into being a Panther. There is no doubt that Keira has some great offensive capabilities but it is her compete level that will be missed the most. We knew that Keira would help us offensively but it is her play away from the puck and her leadership that has really made a huge impact for our team and the program. She does all of the little things behind the scenes that you want to see in a leader. I am really excited for Keira’s future. She seems to have really grown a lot in the past year and I know she will have a big positive impact on the RPI program. I am really happy for her but will miss her a lot.”
Keira is scheduled to start the 2026-27 season at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York in September 2026.
