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For Anastos, that made the decision about more than Keller's accomplishments. "She represents, and her family rep- resents, everything great about grow- ing up playing sports," Anastos said. He watched Keller progress from a kid who simply loved to play into an athlete who reached the high- est level of her sport. Along the way came Olympic medals, world championships and one of the rar- est achievements in hockey: scor- ing the historic overtime goal that won the U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team gold in Milan at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Keller also enters the 2026-27 sea- son with the Boston Fleet as the reigning PWHL Defender of the Year. But those accomplishments were only part of what Anastos wanted the rink to represent. He hopes the name above the ice reminds young players to enjoy the journey, dream big and give everything they have toward becoming the best ver- sion of themselves. "She always raised up those around her," Anastos said. " Which to me is a sign of a special athlete and ultimate teammate." Keller has long been close with Anastos' children and, he said, is "like a daughter" to him. When she returned home after win- ning her first Olympic gold medal in 2018, Anastos celebrated by giving her unlimited Slurpees at the rink. Eight years later, he found a more perma- nent way to honor her. Naming the rink turned Keller's story into something the next generation can see every time they stepped on the ice. Anabelle "AJ" Bednarz knows exactly what that can mean. Bednarz, who currently plays for the 19U HB Girls team, grew up playing at Suburban Ice Farmington Hills and has gotten to know Keller through her camps, first as a young player and now helping coach at them. "A hard shift or a hard rep of a drill and you look up and see Megan Keller on the wall at the end of the rink and know she had hard shifts and hard reps on this same ice," Bednarz said. "One bad shift or one bad rep isn't going to affect that much. Get right back at it, and I could maybe end up somewhere where she is." It is almost exactly what Anastos hoped would happen. " W h e n w e b u i l t t h i s r i n k i n t h e l a t e 1990s, our vision was to have all of you kids out here skating just like she was when she was their age with big smiles on your faces," Anastos said at the dedication. "Not because you are trying to be an Olympian - I hope you have that dream - but because you love to play." Asked what the first grader who once wrote that she wanted to play for Team USA would think if she could see the rink today, Keller returned to the journey rather than the destination. "I think she would be proud," Keller said. "That little girl had a dream of play- ing in the Olympics for Team USA, but she never could have imagined every- thing that would come from chasing that dream." She was, Keller said, simply a kid who loved hockey, one who didn't know where the game would take her or how many peo- ple she would meet along the way. " I 'd h o p e s h e w o u l d r e a l i z e t h a t t h e dream was never just about getting to that moment," Keller said. "It was about loving the game enough to keep going, even when things were hard, and being lucky enough to have people around her who believed in her." And now, Keller's attention turns to the players just beginning their own journeys. "I think the coolest part for her would be seeing all the young girls out on the ice, chasing after their own dreams." P PHOTOS BY Getty Images; Alana Dackiw; Lynn Keller (Right) Megan Keller wrote in first grade that her dream was to one day play for Team USA. 28 // NOV/DEC 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM That little girl had a dream of playing in the Olympics for Team USA, but she never could have imagined everything that would come from chasing that dream." Watch: Megan Keller's GOLDEN GOAL seals win for Team USA vs. Canada | Win- ter Olympics 2026 | NBC Sports