Growing up the daughter of two All-Star SHL players, Anastasia O’Koivu’s life and hockey have never been anything but intertwined.

Five things that shaped her:

1. Playing with and against her brother. While Anastasia and Aleksi often played with each other, the times where they went up head-to-head helped shape her gameplay a lot, learning from her brother how to best defend a netminder and tricks for retaining possession. When her brother played behind her, she developed a protective edge towards her goalies that carried over to future teammates.

2. Junior hockey in Russia, her mother’s homeland, helped Anastasia foster her competitive edge and her physical style of play. Additionally, Russian hockey taught her the value of team as family, and how to grow close to the people she played with.

3. Her parents. Pietra Volkova and Olli O’Koivu did their best to instill in their children the value of hard work, dedication, and pride both on and off-ice.

4. Her extended hockey family. Her mother and father both played with legends such as Zach Evans, Jason Visser, and Vasily Horvat, people she was able to look up to as role models. Of particular note was her mother’s close friend in Russia, Russian netminder Ekaterina Rudnikova, and her role in helping Anastasia’s confidence in defensive play around men could much larger than her.

5. Her mother’s best friend and former roommate, Mikko Linna. Linna, in large part, helped raise Anastasia when the little family was based in West Kendall, and “Uncle Mikko” always treated Anastasia in a very loving manner. Linna’s support has always been a helping factor in her involvement in hockey.