WATCH ABOVE: The family of a 13-year-old girl was furious after finding out their daughter was being prevented from playing hockey for her school. Global’s Billy Shields reports.
SAINT-LAZARE – Mackenzie King, 13, has been released from her league hockey team.
The teen goalie had been prevented from playing hockey for her school because another association controlled her rights.
The family received King’s letter of release less than five hours after Global News shared their story.
The letter, which is written in French, states that “though your daughter has a lot of potential, our hockey personnel believe she wouldn’t have been selected to be on the team.”
King is one of the top eight bantam goalies in her region.
Three years ago, she tried out for an AA-AAA camp for a team called Arsenal du Lac-Saint-Louis.
She was cut and ended up playing for the Pee-Wee BB team, the Faucons of Trois-Lacs.
Her parents thought the commitment at that level was steep.
“She’d miss out on a lot of birthday parties, she’d miss a lot of outings with her friends.”
According to the family, trouble started when she tried to join the team at Collège Bourget, her high school.
The staff pointed out that she needed to be released from Arsenal first.
“I don’t understand how they can dictate where my daughter’s going to play,” said her father, Philippe King, on Tuesday.
“She’s my daughter, she isn’t an NHL player. She’s not under contract.”
Hockey Quebec told Global News that strict rules exist to preserve competitive balance in the province.
Officials had told Global News that, because King is one of the top eight bantam goalies, she’d have to try out for AA-AAA hockey and be cut before being allowed to play for another team.
“Once she gets cut, if the staff decides she isn’t going to be on the team, then she can join the Collège Bourget team,” said Yvan Dallaire, of Hockey Quebec.
It was going to be an “extremely awkward” experience for King.
“For me to go on the ice and suck, it’s going to be hard for me to do that,” she had told Global News.
Now, the family is relieved she won’t have to go through that experience.
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