Three members of the Olds bantam elite Grizzlys female hockey team are set to hit the ice during the Alberta Winter Games, which take place Feb. 16 -19 in Fort McMurray.
Kallie Clouston will suit up for the Zone 4 female team, while Misty Rey and Eliana Seeley have been tapped for the Zone 2 team.
"All three of them have great skill sets," said Grizzlys coach and Kallie's dad, Jason Clouston. "They're all leaders on our team."
He has been selected as assistant coach for the Zone 6 team.
Also, Olds College women's hockey head coach Chris Leeming has been selected to coach one of the female teams at the Games. He's the head coach of the Zone 3 team.
Jason said about 124 players tried out for a spot on one of the three southern Alberta teams. There were only 20 spots on each team roster.
"It's a huge deal," he said of the players getting picked. "They all deserve to be there."
All three players can't wait to get to the Games.
"I'm very excited about this experience I'm going to have," said goaltender Rey. She hails from Bowden.
The 13-year-old net minder said she is confident about herself, but was still surprised to get the nod. This is her first time playing in the provincial tournament.
There were a lot of goalies there," she said. She likes stopping pucks and being a second pair of eyes for her team.
Olds resident Seeley is joining Rey on the Zone 2 squad, where she will play defence. She is looking forward to her experience at such a large tournament.
"I just wanted to see if I could make the team and it would be fun," Seeley said, noting it's her first time trying out for this kind of tournament.
"I was happy," she said of her selection for the team. Like Rey, she's been playing hockey since she was four years old.
She said one of her favourite parts of hockey is "probably the team and the relationships with the people."
Grizzlys team captain, centre and Olds resident Kallie, 14, is hoping she gets to play against her dad and the Grizzlys' coach's team in February. Kallie's been playing hockey for almost a decade and played in the Alberta Challenge last year, following that up with an invite to Hockey Alberta's U-16 summer camp.
She'll be playing for the Zone 4 team at the Games.
"I just like the intensity of the game, and I love playing hockey," she said, adding she likes making new friends.
"My trial wasn't the best so I was kind of nervous, but when I got the call I was pretty excited," she said.
Jason said it will be fun to potentially be coaching a team that could face off against his Grizzlys team members, including his daughter Kallie.
"I'm coaching and I'm not coaching them," he said. This is his first time coaching with Hockey Alberta and he's looking forward to working with the northern players he'll be coaching.
"All three of them have great skill sets. They're all leaders on our team."
JASON CLOUSTON
GRIZZLYS COACH, ALSO SELECTED AS A ZONE 6 ASSISTANT COACH
