Lauren Henderson will experience the thrill of a lifetime representing Canada at the world ringette championships.
The belle AA graduate of the St. Albert Mission earned a spot on the U21 junior national team at forward during the recent selection camp in Toronto.
“It’s overwhelming, honestly,” Henderson said. “It’s certainly a dream I’ve had. I remember going to ringette camps when I was little and having all the Team Canada players come coach so it’s just amazing that dream has come true.”
Henderson, 18, was one of six Albertans among the 35 juniors to receive tryout invitations from Ringette Canada.
It was also a joint camp for 33 senior national team hopefuls to determine the junior and senior rosters for the Dec. 28 to Jan. 4 worlds in Helsinki, Finland.
“It was exciting to have been invited. It was very humbling,” Henderson said. “I went into the camp knowing that I had to do something to set myself apart, especially with a group of girls that talented, so my goal going in was just to play 100 per cent and show the coaches that I’m determined. It was more of a mental game that I was going for than something skill-wise.
“I think my relentless determination during fitness testing helped prove myself too. I had some pretty good scores.”
A positive frame of mind was another plus for Henderson.
“Obviously playing with a group of girls that good it’s easy to doubt yourself but I just tried to keep a hopeful perspective and good optimism. I was hoping for the best but not keeping my hopes too high because it was a talented a group of girls and it could’ve gone either way easily. All 35 could’ve made it, it was just who earned a spot during that weekend.”
The final 23-player roster includes Annie Debaji of Edmonton, Robyn Gillespie of Sherwood Park, Kelsie Caine of Red Deer and Justine Exner and netminder Ellen Hoban of Calgary.
The selection camp was mentally and physically taxing for all the hopefuls.
“I would describe it as exhausting. The level of play was incredible. You really had to push yourself to your limits in order to keep up but it was well worth it,” Henderson said. “It was extremely fun and I was just honoured to play with a group of girls as talented as they were.”
It’s been a season to remember for the Ecole Secondaire Saint Marguerite d’Youville alumna. She made the Team Alberta lineup for the Canada Winter Games and at the U19AA nationals was a first-team all-star forward for the bronze-medallists from St. Albert. The Mission co-captain led the team in points at nationals with 18 and her seventh goal of the tournament was the exclamation mark in the 3-2 comeback victory over British Columbia in the bronze final.
“I had a pretty crazy year,” said Henderson, who battled through injuries over the course of the season as Ringette Canada officials evaluated potential junior candidates. “We were told they were primarily going to scout at Canada Winter Games. At nationals they were also scouting there too so the success we had as a team at nationals for sure helped a lot to get noticed.”
Leading up to worlds are training camps in July and October for the juniors. Henderson also has aspirations to play in the National Ringette League with the Edmonton WAM! or possibly a new NRL team based in the Edmonton region. The NRL is reviewing an application for a second team in the area that would consist of players from outside of Edmonton and if approved the speculation is it will be based in St. Albert.
At worlds, Canada and Finland will battle for the Sam Jacks Trophy in the senior division and the Presidents’ Pool consists of U21 Canada, U20 Finland, U20 Sweden and the Sweden, United States, Slovakia and Czech senior teams.
“Obviously the team goal is to win the worlds,” Henderson said. “Individually it’s to do my best to represent St. Albert, the community, my coaches, my friends, my family and everyone who has helped bring me to where I am now and are continuously supporting me.”
