Hockey dreams are about to come true for an Okotoks forward.
Maisie Kozak was named to Team Alberta’s roster ahead of the U18 Women’s National Hockey Championship, a multi-year journey to earn an opportunity to wear the provincial colours.
“It’s super rewarding,” said Kozak. “I’ve always gone into those thinking I hope I make it, but you never know because you’re competing against the best girls in Alberta, the competition is unreal, everyone is so close and you’re always crossing your fingers, hoping and working so hard to get there.
“There were definitely some tears of joy when I found out I made it.”
This year’s extensive tryout process had a Top-40 summer camp, a six-day process, down to a Top-28 with games against MacEwan University and the University of Alberta.
Kozak got her first crack at the Team Alberta program at the U15 level, skating and winning the Alberta Challenge in 2022. The following summer, she made it to the Top-80 as a first-year U18 player.
“In U15, that was a great experience, a great group of girls, my team was so close and winning the tournament made me want to keep going," she said. “I think it’s everyone’s dream to hopefully one day play for their province and I was super honoured to do that.”
The national tournament runs Nov. 3-9 in Quispamsis, New Brunswick.
“We’re going out there knowing we’re playing the best girls in the country,” she said. “We know it’s going to be a battle, but we also have faith in our own team.
“We’re going to be a really strong team this year, we have a lot of talent and a lot of grit. We know it’s going to be a challenge, but we’re going in with the mindset of bringing home a gold for Alberta.”
Kozak, who skated to a provincial bronze medal in Okotoks with the Rocky Mountain U15 AA Raiders in 2022, is in her third season with the Notre Dame Hounds program in Wilcox, Sask.
“It’s had a huge impact on my hockey career,” she said.
“Everything is hockey here, it’s all hockey and practising and it really lets you hone in on your athletics and academics. Just being away from home, not only made me a stronger person, but also more responsible and more independent. It allows me to get ready for that next step in life.”
Those steps will be moving westward next year.
In the spring, Kozak committed to Trinity Western University to pursue U SPORTS hockey in Langley, B.C.
“The complete champion mindset out there, I was just drawn to that and those are the kind of values I want for my next five years of university,” she said. “The second they told me it only snows like twice a year that was really a selling point.
“I just fell in love with it right when I went out there.”
