As the Saskatoon U18 AAA Stars prepare for their playoff push this month, several players and coaches have another goal on their minds.
In just a few weeks, they’ll be off to the Maritimes to represent Saskatchewan and compete against some of the best young hockey players that Canada has to offer.
That includes Stars forward Avery Bairos, who has found the back of the net more than any other player on her team this season with 21 goals in 25 games at the U18 AAA level.
That scoring touch has been noticed by Hockey Saskatchewan, as the Quinnipiac University commit is one of six Stars heading to Prince Edward Island for the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
“It’s a huge honour for me,” said Bairos. “I’ve worked a lot to make this team and obviously it being in P.E.I. is a super cool place. I’m super excited to just be able to represent my province and go play against some pretty good provinces.”
Joining Bairos on Team Saskatchewan will be Stars blueliner Jocelyn Fiala, forwards Sage Babey, Keyra Buziak and Ireland Stein, as well as Saskatoon captain Megan Hirschfeld.
According to Hirschfeld, it’s a recognition of the work put in both with the Stars and with her Team Saskatchewan tryouts.
“I did work really hard to get on the team,” said Hirschfeld. “It was a tough tryout and there’s lots of strong players in Saskatchewan, so it was definitely hard. But, I’m happy and put in a lot of work.”
This will be Fiala’s second go-around at the provincial level for Team Saskatchewan, leading all defenders on the Stars this season with 17 points in 25 games.
Getting the chance to play with so many teammates out east, Fiala said, will be a special experience facing off against other provincial powers.
“It’s like bringing my team onto a new team and I couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Fiala. “It’s amazing because you can already have friends on the team and then you just create bigger bonds with new people.”
Of the final group of 32 players before Team Saskatchewan’s final cut down, a dozen hailed from the Stars organization which head coach Robin Ulrich said exemplifies the standard of success they strive for year after year.
“It shows a strong program that we’ve put together and a lot of really good players,” said Ulrich. “I’m really excited for the six that have the opportunity and the ones that didn’t go through, maybe a chance opens up down the road.”
Along with the six Stars players tabbed for the Canada Winter Games roster, both Ulrich and assistant coach Kori Herner will also be behind the bench for Team Saskatchewan this month.
“Obviously it’s one of those things in your career as you go along getting the opportunity to work with that group and go to a Canada Games, it’s just a totally different experience,” Ulrich added.
Team Saskatchewan’s first game will come on Feb. 27 in Summerside, P.E.I., as they’ll begin their quest for gold versus Team British Columbia.
Saskatchewan’s final submitted roster of athletes and flag bearer for the 2023 Canada Winter Games will be formally announced in Saskatoon on Feb. 8.