The past and present skated together in Sunday’s celebration of the St. Albert Slash.
The first annual Slash Alumni Event showcased former and current midget AAA females from the inaugural 2004/05 team to the current championship contenders. The score was 7-3 for Team Gold over Team Blue but the Blues won the post-game shootout at Go Auto Arena.
“It’s so great to see everybody. We can’t get everybody together as often as we would like so this is just so much fun,” said Jody Sydor, the first captain in Slash history on the 8-17-2 team that tied for fifth in the north division. “I feel old. I couldn’t sleep last night and the last two months I was just so excited for this day.”
The Slash era in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League was highlighted by the 2006 playoff run to the league final against Warner, winning the 2009 Mac’s tournament in Calgary and finishing fifth as the host team at the 2011 Esso Cup national championship.
“Winning the Mac’s was definitely huge for our team but that wasn’t the only thing that really stood out to me,” said Melissa Kueber, the Slash captain at nationals. “The best part about the Slash was just how tight knitted the team was. The road trips and the skits we would do are the type of memories that I will always keep with me forever.”
The Slash also holds a special place in Sydor’s heart.
“Being with the Slash was just so amazing. Never have I smiled so much in my life,” said the team’s defenceman. “We would go to practice and it was in Bon Accord and it was a long drive for a lot of the girls from St. Albert and we even had a girl (Maggie Tkachuk) from Onoway that drove all the way too. I always had a big grin on my face just because I loved going to practice so much to be with my friends and hang out with them as well as work hard at practice too.”
The second of Sydor’s third Slash season was extra special.
“We won the north final (in double overtime against Lloydminster) and that was pretty exciting. We also had an overtime win (in the north semifinal) against Edmonton and they were a big rival for us obviously,” Sydor said. “We went down south to play Warner, who was a really good team, and we ended up losing to them but winning the north was exciting. The banner still hangs in Akinsdale Arena I believe.”
After graduation Sydor went on to play for the University of Connecticut Huskies in the Hockey East Association and was captain in her senior season. In 142 games she compiled eight goals, 49 points and 133 penalty minutes. The Hockey East honourable mention all-star in 2010 was the Huskies’ rookie of the year and Hockey East all-rookie team selection in 2008.
“It was a great experience. It was three thousand miles away from here, really far away, but totally worth it. The team was good and I had some really great friends there but I had some great friends here too so it’s good to come back,” said the Sturgeon Composite High School alumna.
Sydor credits the Slash for putting her in position to succeed.
“I learned so much being on the Slash. My dad (Terry) was the coach so he taught me a lot of stuff, even when I was younger too. It’s amazing how much I learned playing girl’s hockey. That was the first time I had played girl’s hockey in the winter so I learned a ton and it definitely translated into university and even into life after school too,” said the 25-year-old St. Albert pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Kueber also moved on to division one hockey with the Colgate University Raiders in the Patriot League.
“Once a Raider always a Raider,” said Kueber in reference to the Slash’s affiliation with the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club.
The 21-year-old winger is the Raiders’ co-captain in her fourth and final season.
“All four years we haven’t really had the season we wanted I guess but it’s stepping stones. My senior class will be part of the step in the right direction for the team in general I hope to make the Frozen Four and those big tournaments,” said the Raiders’ rookie of the year in 2012 with a team-high 14 goals and was second in scoring with 19 points in 32 games.
Kueber is rounding into form after recovering from surgery in April to repair a torn hip labral. In 16 games she has three goals and two assists after compiling seven goals and six assists in 30 games last season
“It was a long season for me,” Kueber said. ‘In the summer I was constantly rehabbing my hip trying to get better.”
Her sophomore campaign ended with six goals and seven assists in 28 games because of mononucleosis, strep throat, bronchitis and a concussion.
The Paul Kane High School alumna described the university experience at Colgate as life altering.
“It’s been amazing. Going into my freshman year I didn’t really know what to expect. It was my first time away from home and first time managing hockey, school, social life, everything really. So the biggest thing I’ve taken out of it is time management. That’s what you have to learn especially in the first semester,” said the educational studies student. “I’m really happy I went away to college to get that experience.”
And it all started with the Slash.
“I learned so much from the Slash. We had amazing coaches. They taught us so much on and off the ice and those are the type of skills and even lessons that you can take and apply to the college and the real world after that,” said Kueber, who graduated from the Slash as the team’s all-time leading scorer with 85 goals and 66 assists in 100 games. The 2011 Canada Winter Games’ gold medallist with U18 Team Alberta also led the AMMFHL in goals with 31 in 24 games and finished in a three-way tie for top spot in points with 47 in her last season.
