Saanichton’s Micah Hart has jumped at every opportunity thrown her way to improve her hockey skills and in the process has caught the attention of Hockey Canada.
Hart was selected most recently to the Under 18 junior national hockey team and played in a three-game series against the United States in Lake Placid, New York. She was one of 22 players chosen to suit up for Canada after two conditioning and training camps run by Hockey Canada.
“I still enjoy it,” Hart says, “and that’s why I love to play hockey. I hope, someday, to represent Canada on the ice.”
The 16-year-old defenceman honed her skills internationally this summer. She was invited in August to London, England for an ICAAF development camp and worked with players, coaches and team officials from 18 countries around the world as other nations sought to improve their women’s hockey programs.
Hart has been at it for 12 years since she started in the Peninsula Minor Hockey program. She is currently enrolled in the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. The team at OHA plays in an east coast hockey league, where they finished in the middle of the pack in their first season in the league. Hart says she will return to Penticton for her Grade 12 year this fall and continue to develop her hockey skills.
To get there, Hart knows it’s going to be hard work. A typical week during her summer break included five dryland workouts and another two to three sessions on the ice. Training ramped up from there now that she’s back at the academy.
“It’s tough, but it’s worth it in the end.”
editor@peninsulanewsreview.com