Katie Brickman
Madison Pendleton loves being at the rink. It is one of her favourite places to go and she has a passion for being around the game of hockey. It doesn’t matter if she’s playing, officiating or volunteering on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old Moncton native got onto the ice and into the game at a young age, but it wasn’t until she began officiating when she was 12 that hockey transformed for her.
“I just fell in love with officiating,” Pendleton says. “I just loved being able to skate the entirety of the game and meeting other people, especially on the women’s side as it’s such a small circle.”
She continued to officiate and play games in her hometown throughout her childhood, but it was officiating that took her to new levels, including university hockey, Junior A men’s hockey and professional women’s hockey in the former Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
As an official, Pendleton loves that she can completely be absorbed in the action and see the game from a different viewpoint. It changed her outlook on the game, and she enjoyed coming to the rink more as an official than she ever did as a player.
“At the end of my minor hockey career, I realized that I could referee leagues that I could not have ever played in or even dreamed of playing in,” she says. “I just loved it and I realized that I loved going to the rink to ref more than I necessarily enjoyed playing.”
In high school, Pendleton was nominated for her first national event as an official. She realized there wasn’t a lot of competition in officiating, particularly among women, and she was able to quickly rise through the ranks and secure big tournaments.
She has since worked multiple prestigious events, including the U SPORTS hockey championships, National Women’s Team training camp and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association (PWHPA) Dream Gap Tour. It was special to be on the same ice as some of the players she looked up to as a kid.
“That was something that you dream about as a little kid playing hockey, but I just never thought that I would be able to find myself on the ice with that caliber of players,” Pendleton says. “To get that opportunity and work alongside officials that have already done international events was inspiring and incredible.”
Throughout her career—as a player and official—Pendleton spent countless hours with physiotherapists and chiropractors to maintain her body for multiple games a week. It was through those positive experiences with the medical field that got her thinking longer term.
She pursued chiropractic work and headed west to Toronto for her schooling, which she recently completed. The life balance that being a chiropractor brought was just one of the reasons she was interested in the field, particularly when she would be able to continue with officiating games.
“I always knew that I wanted to work in healthcare in some aspect. Growing up, playing hockey, I was always going to my chiropractor with my injuries, and they were the ones that got me through the tough demands on my body,” Pendleton says. “I love the ability to have my own chiropractor care practice, keep officiating and have the balance for the life I want to have one day.”
Now that she has completed her studies and returned home to New Brunswick, she wants to remain in the game but in a different capacity.
In January, Pendleton travelled to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, for the 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, covering her own costs to volunteer as part of the medical services team.
“I have my emergency first responder certification, and as a chiropractic student I applied to volunteer with the medical services team. When I was accepted, I was shocked because I didn’t think I’d get the chance this early in my career,” she says. “As soon as I was accepted, I booked my flights. I think I lived at the rink for the whole tournament.”
She spent over 45 hours on the sidelines at U18 Women’s Worlds, providing medical services and soaking up as much as she could from other professionals around her. That experience helped shaped how much Pendleton wants to continue this work at the rink.
As she assisted the other health care professionals on the team, she also kept her focus on the officials on and off the ice.
“I loved the experience because I got to learn from the other medical doctors who were working the event and how they approach their roles and injury management,” Pendleton said. “I knew a lot of the officials that were at the event, so it was a dream to provide care for the officials and their needs because they don’t have a healthcare team.”
As Pendleton makes moves in her career as a chiropractor, she still wants to hold space for the game that brought her so much joy—whether that’s as an official or volunteering to keep everyone safe.
“I would love to work for the International Ice Hockey Federation or with Team Canada; that would be incredible.”
Next for Pendleton, her focus turns to more volunteer work, with the medical services committee at the Esso Cup this week in Dieppe, New Brunswick, and the Centennial Cup in Summerside, P.E.I., beginning May 7.
“I have a lot of exciting things coming up that I’m really looking forward to,” she says. “Any way I can help make someone’s else day or job easier or make an event run smoother, I just want to help. If I could even make the smallest difference and be able to help anyone, I am more than happy to. I love being at the rink and any time I can spend there, I’m happy.”