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Rachel Llanes took her first strides on-ice at a middle school birthday. Twelve years old and already years behind her counterparts, the California native was among the least likely to advance in professional hockey. “I think the best part about it was that I never expected to go so high,” the KRS Vanke Rays star described on the eve of her departure for Russia. “I was only doing it because I really loved it.” Llanes was the first player in history to win the Isobel Cup, Clarkson Cup and WHL Championship—an impressive trophy case for a career that began at a party.