A local hockey player is hoping to impress Hockey Canada later this summer.
Brooke Hobson, who plays defence for Northeastern University in the NCAA and hails from
Prince Albert, has been named to the Team Canada National Women’s Development Team selection camp roster.
Hobson, an alumnus of the Prince Albert Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League, played for the national U 18 team in the 2016-17 season, scoring a goal in five games.
She is coming off of her second year at Northeastern, where she finished with six goals and 28 points in 38 games to go along with a plus-minus of +27.
Hobson led all Northeastern Blueliners with 11 powerplay points and led the team with 52 blocked shots.
“It’s a pretty exciting feeling, but there are also some nerves with it,” Hobson said when reached by phone Thursday.
“It’s been a couple of years since I was at under 18. I think it’s going to push me to do my best.”
Hobson said she attended a strength a and conditioning camp in May and received feedback on what she needs to work on.
“I’ve been going to the gym and working on the areas I need to improve on to become a stronger hockey player on the ice,” she said.
“Hopefully I see some improvements here for our August camp.”
Hobson said one of the keys for her will be to show the coaches that she’s one of the hardest workers on the ice. Whether in practice, a classroom session or fitness training, Hobson wants to show how hard she’s been working all summer.
That hard work also carries her through her second year at Northeastern.
“I definitely took a step forward this year and contributed to my team’s success,” she said.
“I stayed on the ice after a few practices each week with ( a coach) and she taught me some smaller skills you don’t get in a normal practice”
that included shooting in stride and working along the blue line.
“That help she gave me this year one on one helped my confidence in games,” Hobson said.
“That’s what improved from last year, my confidence with the puck to help make plays and make good decisions.”
Hobson is hoping to take some of those improvements with her to development camp. She’s also hoping to learn even more from Hockey Canada.
“I hope I can learn from some of these coaches and players at this camp, and try to grow for my team back in Boston as well.”
Development camp runs in Calgary from August 2-11. The athletes will compete for a chance to represent Canada in a pair of three-game series against the US in Lake Pacid, NY from Aug. 14-17.
Joining Hobson on the roster are 17 players who faced off against the US in a three-game series last summer, along with six from the 2019 gold-medal-winning U18 Women’s World Championship team.
The development camp invitees will be split into two teams and, in addition to practices, training and fitness testing, they will face off against each other, a team of U Sports all-stars and national teams fro France and Japan.
The U Sports team features another Bears alumnus. Former captain Hannah Koroll, who plays for the University of British Columbia, has been named to the U Sports roster.
