UNB signs a second Olds native

A second Olds player will be packing her hockey skates and heading east next year to play for the University of New Brunswick's Varsity Reds.

Olds High School senior Alayna Wagstaff will follow in the footsteps of classmate Paige Grenier, the first player signed to the rebooted UNB program being led by former Olds College coach Sarah Hilworth.

"She's a smart hockey player, she reads the game really well," said Hilworth, who was hired in June to rebuild the Varsity Reds women's hockey team for the 2018 season, after it was shut down a decade ago.

"When she gets her shot off, she can put the puck in the net," she added. "And that's our expectation for her, to use (those) smarts to put her in a position to get the puck and put pucks on net and be effective that way."

Wagstaff, who played minor hockey for the Olds Grizzlys before making the jump to Midget AAA last season, playing for the Rocky Mountain Raiders out of Okotoks, said her initial thought was the distance.

"It was kinda really far away at first, and I was like ëHoly ... '" said Wagstaff.

Hilworth had approached her earlier in the summer, saying that she was applying for the UNB position, and if successful, she'd like Wagstaff on her squad.

"When she got the job it was kinda like, I had to make a decision now, and it's actually real," said Wagstaff.

"Obviously going across the country is not necessarily easy for everyone, but I think that the resources that we have here are going to make it easier," said Hilworth.

Despite being in talks with some closer schools ñ Red Deer College and the University of Lethbridge ñ she decided to accept the offer. One factor was knowing she'd have a little taste of home out on the East Coast.

"I knew Paige was going before I signed, so then I knew that I would at least have one face that I knew," said Wagstaff.

"I think she'll just feel at home, and I think that's definitely a selling feature for her," said Hilworth. "When you are going away from home you're looking for kind of a second family, and when you already know and are comfortable with those players, it's a little more natural to choose that as a fit."

But really, the selling point is being able to play for Hilworth.

"I knew that she was a great coach," said Wagstaff. "I've worked with her before and so I knew that it was going to be a good development."

"She really pushes you, and I just think she really knows her stuff," she added.

Hilworth said she didn't have to work too hard to convince Wagstaff.

"I think she really wants to play for me," said Hilworth. "I don't know if it was necessarily harder to convince her, it was just kind of showing her her options."

"The relationship that we've built, it's very much on trust," she said. "And she trusts me as a coach, and I know she can go through a wall for me."

Wagstaff hasn't settled on an academic program yet, although she is leaning towards either kinesiology or nursing. For the upcoming school year, she's happy just to breathe a little easier.

"I'm glad that I know that I am going somewhere next year, and that I don't have to worry about trying to get on a team at the end of the year," she said. "It's nice just being able to play, and focusing on my studying."

For her final year of midget AAA hockey, Wagstaff will join the Sutterfund Chiefs in Red Deer this season, before heading to Fredericton for the Varsity Reds' 2018 season.

"I think her development is exactly where we need her to be to come in and be effective right away," said Hilworth. "At the same time I know she has more to give and I know that I can get it out of her."