It's an immense honour for young players to be selected for their provincial teams to compete at the U-18 Canadian national championships, and the path forward from there is filled with endless potential.
The U-18 Canadian national championships has a decorated list of alumni from Marie-Philip Poulin to Sarah Fillier, who were both named tournament MVPs during their events. While championships and accolades will always be a target, making a provincial roster remains a significant milestone and goal for many women's hockey players.
Attendance at the tournament earns players immediate recognition, helps them in their quest to earn NCAA or U Sports commitments, and can lead to a national team future.
While the results of the opening day were on the minds of the athletes, the honour of being part of the experience, and competing at the U-18 national championships where their idols launched their own careers was not lost on the teenage competitors either.
"It is such an honour getting to play against such great players," said Quebec's Loélie Lachapelle. "Being here is pushing me more to get better; it is such a great opportunity, and I am really proud to be here.”
Lachepelle has her share of big game experience entering her third year representing Quebec's U-18 provincial team at the national championships. Lachepelle helped Quebec win back-to-back silver medals at the event falling to Ontario Red in the gold medal game both times. She also played for Laurentides-Lanaudière Étoiles at the 2023 Esso Cup, Canada's U-18 club national championships.
British Columbia, who won bronze at the last two national championships, has produce several top players from recent tournament rosters including current Canadian national team members Chloe Primerano, as well as 2025 PWHL Draft top 10 picks Jenna Buglioni and Anne Cherkowski. Seeing the path past players have taken in the game, it gives the current roster even more pride to represent their province at the event.
"This is a dream come true. Thinking about all the work it took to get here makes it a big honour to be able to represent our province, wear this jersey and play our best out there,” said British Columbia's Julianne Hendriks.
The tournament continues this week with the gold medal and bronze medal games taking place Saturday, November 8.