Minor At nine years old, Szabados became the first girl to play in the Brick Super Novice Tournament held at the
West Edmonton Mall. During her time in the Americans' training camp, Szabados split an exhibition game with former
Montreal Canadiens netminder
Carey Price. Szabados recalls, "...he let in four goals in the half he played; I let in two and one in overtime." In her first game with the AJHL's
Sherwood Park Crusaders on October 2, 2002, Szabados recorded a
shutout in addition to winning the game. She was also named MVP of the Fort Saskatchewan club. Instead, Szabados played for the men's team at
MacEwan University in
Alberta. Szabados spent two full seasons playing with Grant MacEwan (2007–08 and 2008–09) before leaving to join
Hockey Canada's program as they assembled the Olympic team. During the 2007–08 season, Szabados helped Grant MacEwan to a silver medal at the 2008 Alberta College Athletic Conference (ACAC). She is returned to the Griffins for the 2010–11 season. Szabados also made her debut with Canada's Under-22 women's team in 2006. She won three straight gold medals at the Air Canada Cup between 2006 and 2008. Szabados was expected to be Canada's third goalie heading into the
2010 Winter Olympics, behind veterans
Kim St. Pierre and
Charline Labonté. In pre-tournament play, including a series of games against midget boys teams from Alberta, Szabados posted the best numbers of the three. Her record against the midget boys was 10–1, with a 1.99 goals against average and .936 save percentage. She was selected to the tournament all-star team at the Olympics, and was named top goaltender. In a March 31, 2012, exhibition game versus the United States, Szabados made 24 saves in a 1–0 shutout win at the Ottawa Civic Centre. During the
2014 Winter Olympics in
Sochi,
Russia, Szabados was a member of the Canadian women's hockey team again. She would win all three of her starts, including the gold medal game in overtime to win her second straight Olympic gold medal. In the
2018 Winter Olympics Szabados was again in goal for the
gold medal game against Team USA. Tied after regulation and an overtime period, the game went into
shootout, which Canada lost to the U.S. who won the gold. The loss ended the team's streak of four consecutive gold medals won since
2002. Szabados was the tournament's
leading goaltender with a 94.94% save percentage and was awarded tournament's Best Goaltender.
Professional In March 2010, there was a movement by some in the Edmonton media for the
Edmonton Oilers to consider signing Szabados when goaltender
Devan Dubnyk came down with the flu prior to a game against the
Vancouver Canucks, leaving the Oilers with only one goaltender and in need of an emergency backup. Instead,
Calgary Dinos goaltender Nathan Deobald was signed to an amateur tryout contract, prompting journalists including the
Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones to criticize the club's move. A similar situation occurred on March 4, 2014, when a campaign was launched on Twitter to have Szabados as an emergency backup goaltender to
Ben Scrivens for the Edmonton Oilers game against the
Ottawa Senators, as their new goaltender,
Viktor Fasth, would not arrive till the next day, after being traded to Edmonton that day. Edmonton opted for
UofA Golden Bears goaltender Kurtis Mucha instead. The Oilers invited Szabados to practice with them the next day, while they waited for Fasth to arrive. On March 7, 2014, it was announced that Szabados had been signed to a professional contract with the
Columbus Cottonmouths of the
Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) to finish out the 2013–14 season, to become the first female to play with a SPHL team. She joins the likes of
Manon Rhéaume,
Danielle Dube, and
Hayley Wickenheiser as Canadian women's national team members to play men's professional hockey. Szabados dressed for her first game on March 13, 2014, but did not play in the game. On March 15, Szabados started her first game with the Cottonmouths, stopping 27 of 31 shots in a 4–3 loss to the
Knoxville Ice Bears. On November 21, 2014, Szabados made 34 saves to become the first female goaltender to win a SPHL game when the Cottonmouths defeated the
Fayetteville FireAntz 5–4 in overtime. Along with Lee Stecklein, Szabados was named one of the team captains for the
4th NWHL All-Star Game. ==Personal life==