THUNDER BAY – Alex Young is about to embark on a major journey.
The Thunder Bay netminder, who spent the last two seasons stopping pucks for the Thunder Bay Queens under-18 program, is heading to Stamford, Conn., to play for the Connecticut Junior Rangers.
“I’m really excited to go and meet everyone there and play some really good hockey, but there’s definitely some nerves that are associated with it,” Young said.
“I’m just really excited to have some new opportunities.”
The opportunity to play for the Junior Rangers came from a conversation that Young had with Michael Stanaway, who is a coach with the program that has helped Young in the process of getting her name out to post-secondary programs.
“I told him that I needed a team to play for next year and he suggested that I just come down and play there,” Young said.
“The team that I’m playing is the equivalent to what Junior A hockey is like up here and it provides a lot of exposure to all of the best universities and colleges on the East Coast.”
The fact that the Junior Rangers are close to many post-secondary institutions is what drew Young to the program, as her long-term goal is to play college hockey.
“Within 45 minutes of Stamford I think there’s like 12 (NCAA) Division I schools,” Young said.
“Playing in Thunder Bay has probably been some of the best years of hockey that I’ve ever had, but with where we are situated, it’s tough to get that exposure to those big schools and get your name out there.”
Young spent four seasons with the Queens. She originally suited up for the U13 squad and returned to the U18 squad a couple of years ago.
She said she’s made a lot of strides with her game during that time, especially with her skating and her movement.
“A lot of people kind of overlook that part of the game, but if you can’t move, you can’t really do anything,” Young said.
“My goalie coach (Shane Baker) over the last couple of years has been great to work with and he’s really helped me to compete at a high level.”
Young also said her game improved from playing against a lot of the top teams in Ontario over the last two years.
“We were able to beat the reigning national champion Durham West Lighting last year and we also beat the Stratford Aces, who were ranked among the top three teams in the province at that time,” Young said.
“To be able to compete with those top girls who are committed to all the top schools is probably the biggest thing that makes a difference in all of our development with the Queens.”
Ever since Young started playing minor hockey, she wanted to be a goaltender.
She said she was the only one who wanted to go between the pipes during her IP (Initiation Program) days and the excitement she got when stopping pucks stuck.
“Plus, my mom told me no when I said I wanted to be a goalie, so that kind of made me want to do it more,” Young said, adding that she describes herself as an athletic goalie with a high compete level.
She tries to model her game after recent Stanley Cup winners Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy, in addition to Thunder Bay products that have made it to the NHL.
“I always looked up to Mackenzie Blackwood and Matt Murray because they were from here, but my biggest role model was easily Carter Hutton,” Young said, who will make her way down to Connecticut on Aug. 14.
The Rangers start their training camp a few days later, with the season getting underway on Labour Day weekend.
