Local athletes Megan LeBlanc and Haley Ronyk are lacing up their skates and heading across the pond early next month to represent Canada at a global all-star hockey tournament.
Estevan native and left-winger Megan, 15, and Bienfait centre Haley, 18, will play for the Northern Alberta Hockey Association (NAHA) Panthers midget AAA team at the Legacy World Selects Invitational Tournament that will be held during the first week of August in Bolzano, Italy. The girls will face off at Bolzano’s Egna Arena against the best players of their age group from various countries in Europe and elsewhere including an Italian national team.
“Last year with the tournament the calibre of play was unbelievable,” said Sarah Hilworth, second-year head coach of the Panthers and full-time coach of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s Olds College Broncos women’s hockey team. “It was very strong especially coming from the Swedes and the Russians and there was another North American team there.
“Then in terms of the function of the actual tournament, it’s unbelievable. They’re so good to the girls. The food was all very good (and) very healthy. Accommodations were unreal and they make it a very good sport tour where they’re combining the culture and heritage of the places that we’re actually seeing (with) a good quality hockey tournament.”
Hilworth said the Panthers, who are made up of players from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, will begin their eight-day tour by flying to Munich on Aug. 3. Then they will drive straight to Bolzano for an on-ice practice. She said before the actual four-day tournament starts the team will be split apart for a multi-national game where players from each country will join together to play an opening match against a similar squad of global all stars.
“It’s actually really cool,” she said. “Last year, we ended up being really good team friends with the Swedes and I know some girls kept in contact with them over the year, (plus) being able to try and communicate with these other girls is pretty cool to watch.”
Megan, who suited up for the PowerTech midget AA Panthers last season and will be heading to Wilcox to play for the Notre Dame Hounds AAA team this fall, said she’s looking forward to the different competition they’ll be facing in Europe as well as the trip overseas. She said this is her first time participating in a competition like this and the nerves are high, but the players are working hard by hitting the gym and the ice regularly on their own. Since there are only two team practices in Edmonton before the trip the team is putting the work in to make sure they give a good show.
“I hope we can all just come together when we get there and be good at the tournament,” Megan said.
Haley, a teammate of Megan’s with the midget AA Panthers, said its tough work getting to know all their teammates with the short amount of time they have together before leaving for Europe, but she noted they do have a 13-hour flight to get acquainted. She said her expected job on the team is to be a good role model for the younger girls while setting up a few goals as well.
Megan, Haley and the rest of the 17-female roster were scouted by Hilworth and team manager Paul Schmidt before being given invitations and all the girls were chosen based on their ability to make a difference in the games along with presenting a good Canadian program to others. Hilworth said both Megan and Haley were picked for their speed on the ice and ability to put pucks in the net when close to the crease.
“They seem to have some chemistry between the two,” she said. “They’ll work really well together down the stretch in the tournament and they bring some leadership. This year on this team they (are) looked upon as people to put pucks in the back of the net and I think that comes out eventually with leadership and taking the club forward when they need a big goal.
“It’ll be a different kind of competition, so it’ll be exciting for them to see how their skill measures up to other girls from around the world.”
Hilworth acknowledged the team hasn’t had much time to get together beforehand, making it difficult to build a core group, but noted all the girls are highly talented players and should come together quickly. She said a success at the tournament would be just having the players work hard, be humble and enjoy the time overseas.
“The experience is once in a lifetime and I think, for them to be able to put themselves out there, and then take in as much as they can, that is probably the most important thing going forward in the tournament.”
