DIDSBURY - Mountain View Colts left-winger and current team scoring leader Austin Corsiatto credits his linemates and great coaching for his success so far this season.
Corsiatto currently has 23 goals and 13 assists in the 2021-22 Heritage Junior B Hockey League season.
Corsiatto’s linemates are centre Jordan Saunders and right-winger Carter Layden.
“We’ve been playing all season together and we play well together,” says Corsiatto, who stands six feet tall and weighs 190 pounds.
“I feel that I’m improving a lot this season, especially playing with high-level players like Saunders and Layden. It helps me push myself.”
Asked what he thinks makes the line work so well, he said, “I know it’s my job to put the puck in the net and those guys do everything they can to get it on my stick and get me in good positions."
The team as a whole has also been coming together nicely as the season progresses, he said.
“I think we’ve been finding our groove and working well together as a team,” he said. “I’m happy how it is going this season.”
The Colts’ coaching staff has been a big part of the team’s success so far this year, he said.
“Our coaches are excellent and they know what they are doing,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to learn and play with coaches like them.”
Playing in front of fans at the Didsbury Memorial Complex this season has been great, he said.
“It’s always great to have a crowd there to cheer us on,” he said.
Colts head coach Gord Olsen says, "Austin has played well. The offence he has provided is great for a 17-year-old."
Born and raised in Olds, Corsiatto is in his second season with the Colts – although last season saw the team only play four games during a COVID-shortened campaign.
Before joining the Colts last year, he played his minor hockey in Olds and Red Deer.
“I played AA in Olds and then I played bantam AAA for two years in Red Deer,” Corsiatto said.
Now in his second season with the Colts, Corsiatto says he remains injury free – something he didn’t enjoy early in his hockey career.
“I’ve been pretty healthy this year,” he said. “When I was in bantam one year I tore a bunch of ligaments in my knee and I was down for quite a few months. And I had a bad concussion that ended my season one year.”
Corsiatto credits some of his goal-scoring prowess to many hours of practise with his Shooter Tutor cutout target net.
“That’s what I’ve always grown up with,” he said. “I’ve had it in my basement since I was eight years old or so.”
Asked about his long-term plans, Corsiatto says he plans to attend Red Deer College starting in the fall of 2022.
“I want to be a social studies teacher for high school,” he said. “I’ve always thought that would be an awesome job.”
