A slew of Okanagan hockey players have been named to Team BC’s U18 team, in preparation for the 2023 National Women’s Under-18 Championship.
Scheduled to take place from Nov. 5-11 on home ice in Dawson Creek, the B.C. squad is looking to maintain their success after a gold medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games earlier this roster.
Among the 20 skaters announced to the team, five are from the Okanagan.
Kelowna locals include Kaitlyn Mallette, Brielle Kelly-Paquet and Gracie Graham, who was also on the Canada Winter Games team.
Kennedy Sisson is the lone Lake Country representative, while Vernon’s Holly Magnus was also named to the team.
“Narrowing the roster down to just 20 players was tough, considering the abundance of talent in our branch,” said Fred Zweep, Commissioner of BC Hockey’s Program of Excellence. “We can’t wait to see these women compete on home ice and see the program continue to grow from the success we saw at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.”
Mallette (defenceman), Graham (defenceman), Kelly-Paquet (forward) and Sisson (forward) all play for the RINK Academy U18 team of the CSSHL.
Magnus plays for the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers U18 AAA team, which will be hosting the 2024 Esso Cup in the spring.
The 2023 National Women’s Under-18 competition will see eight regional teams compete: Alberta, Atlantic, B.C., Manitoba, Ontario Blue, Ontario Red, Quebec and Saskatchewan. More information can be found at hockeycanada.ca.
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