Time at the cabin has helped Ottawa Rapid FC on the field in the inaugural Northern Super League season.
Knowing they had a new team in a new league, Ottawa's braintrust looked for ways to build bonds in the pre-season. That included renting a cabin in Quebec.
The players occupied their time with everything from doing puzzles to snowshoeing, activities that "allowed us to kind of see different sides of each other and become really close," said forward Delaney Baie (DB) Pridham.
The players were also divided into groups and assigned meals to plan and cook.
"We're a tight group and I think that's honestly because we spent so much time with each other at the beginning," Pridham said.
After the international break, third-place Ottawa (4-3-2) returns to action Thursday when it visits league-leading AFC Toronto (6-3-1). Last time the two met, Pridham scored the NSL's first-ever hat trick in a 4-0 win June 7 at York Lions Stadium.
Ottawa trumpeted Pridham's signing Feb. 9 with the tag line of "Explosive. Relentless. Goal-hungry." But even Kristina Kiss, Ottawa's technical director, has been surprised by Pridham's output.
The 27-year-old leads the league with nine goals, five more than anyone else, as well as shots (28) and shots on target (16).
"That's the hardest position in soccer. Scoring goals is never easy," said Kiss. "DB has a knack of finding little pockets of space for herself and getting on the ball and creating chances. But finishing chances is a whole other story and we're really thrilled with how it's gone so far."
Pridham played four seasons at Santa Clara University 鈥� getting to meet noted Broncos alumnus Steve Nash when he joined the soccer team's training session.
"He's really good at soccer too," Pridham said of the former NBA MVP, who is co-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps.
After graduating with a degree in political science and a minor in business (entrepreneurship), Pridham spent a season in Iceland with 脥BV and three in Sweden, first with Kristianstad DFF and then Link枚ping FC.
The move to Canada was prompted by a call from Ottawa's Danish coach Katrine Pedersen, who knew Andr茅e Jeglertz, Pridham's former Link枚ping coach, now in charge of the Denmark women.
Born in Saratoga, Calif., to Canadian parents (father from Toronto and mother from Fort Erie, Ont.), Pridham is a dual citizen. The family moved to the U.S. for her father's work in tech sales.
All her relatives remain in Canada and Pridham visited them regularly growing up.
Soccer has always been part of her life. On a visit home last winter, she was going through some early school assignments and came across one that included a question about her dream job.
"I wrote professional soccer player. So it's been a dream of mine ever since dreams were a thing," she said.
At Santa Clara, she played midfielder and winger but switched to playing up front, her preferred position, when she turned pro.
Iceland proved to be a whole new world. She lived on Heimaey, part of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, a 45-minute ferry ride off the south coast of Iceland.
"Just an extravagant adventure 鈥� It's just hard to put in words how beautiful it is," she enthused. "An experience I would never take back. I loved that I went there. I love that I took that risk."
One of the team's training fields overlooked a volcano. The team's stadium is located in a valley with columns of lava on two sides, as well as an ocean view.
Iceland has family ties. Pridham's great-great-grandfather left Iceland for Winnipeg.
Pridham's goal-scoring in Iceland drew the attention of Kristianstad DFF, which bought out her contract.
There were bumps along the way, with a torn anterior cruciate ligament sidelining her in 2023, her first year with Link枚ping. While rehabbing far from home wasn't easy, Pridham found positives in the injury experience.
"It kind of challenges you 鈥� Is this what I still want to do and makes you want to fight harder for that and not ever take it for granted. You're playing the sport you love and you're doing it for your job."
Named to Canada's preliminary roster for the 2022 CONCACAF Women鈥檚 Championship, Pridham hopes to get another shot with the national team. While eligible for both the U.S. and Canada, she is committed to Canada.
Pridham's given name Delaney Baie 鈥� the two words go together 鈥� has a couple of sources. Her parents just liked the name Delaney, while Baie is a homage to Georgian Bay, where her great-grandmother bought the family cottage in 1944.
"We've been going there ever since I remember," said Pridham.
Away from the playing field, Pridham has designed clothes for teammates and a set of running shoes for her coach.
She says the "side business" helps provide balance.
"I think it would be super-cool to have this blow up in later years and have my own solidified clothing brand where I'm not doing everything (myself)," said Pridham, whose mother is an interior designer.
She is doing some custom work and has just partnered with Bad Dog Co., an Ottawa-based vintage and second-hand clothing shop.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
