Okotoks will be amidst the elite of international youth sports next month.
Goaltender Carter Esler from the Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers U18 AAA squad was named to Hockey Canada’s roster for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea, it was announced on Dec. 21.
“It’s a huge honour for me,” Esler said. “I’m just excited to wear the maple leaf and to do my country right.
“I think it will be a really fun and cool and new experience.”
Esler is one of three Albertans on the roster along with Lacombe blueliner Daxon Rudolph and Fort Saskatchewan rearguard Keaton Verhoeff.
The Youth Winter Olympic Games features high performance athletes aged 15-18, with 1,900 athletes competing in a total of 81 events. Canada has a strong track record in hockey at the event with two bronze medals and a silver medal over the past three games.
The men’s hockey portion of the multi-sport competition runs from Jan. 27-31, 2024.
“I know all of the B.C. guys and Alberta guys, but all the guys from Ontario and (other places) that will be a new experience to get to know all about them,” he said.
“We get a few days before, we go up to Vancouver to get all together as a team, practice as a team and we’ll head out to South Korea from there.”
The 2008-born goalie was the Spokane Chiefs’ first round pick in the 2023 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, the first netminder selected.
An Alberta Cup champion, Esler also represented Team Alberta at the WHL Cup in October.
In his first season at the U18 AAA level, the 15-year-old has posted eight wins and a .913 save percentage with the Bow Mark Oilers.
When the puck drops next week on the Circle K Classic, formerly known as the Mac’s Tournament, Esler will become the second member of his family to play in the competition.
Carter’s father Josh, an accomplished goalie in his own right who played in the Saskatchewan Junior A ranks, competed in the holiday classic 29 years ago with Tisdale.
“It’s really cool to see how that gets passed down through life,” he said. “One day, your dad is playing in it and the next day, you are, and you see how fast life moves.”
Esler and the Bow Mark Oilers kickoff their 2023-24 Circle K Classic tournament on Dec. 27 versus the St. Louis Blues with pool play matches to follow versus NAX and the Valley West Giants on Dec. 28 and 29.
“I know me, for sure, and I bet the team too, we’re just excited for the opportunity to play in such a great tournament like this and to show everyone what we have,” Esler said.
“We feel confident going into it, we’re definitely underdogs which is kind of nice, but we’re still going to try and push to try and win it all.”
For full schedule information, click here.
