One day her figure skates just didn’t cut it anymore.
Meagan Yaworski started figure skating at the Whitney Forum like many young skaters do, but after watching her brother Sean play hockey she realized his sport looked like more fun.
She laced up a pair of hockey skates and never looked back.
It didn’t take her long to transition from figure skating to the fast-paced world of midge hockey she plays today.
Before she knew it she was competing on the boys’ teams and now plays on an all-girls elite team.
Yaworski, a Grade 12 student at Hapnot Collegiate, has only been playing hockey for a few years, but her skills have developed and grown quickly.
The blueliner has worked hard for her spot on the Wild and continues to flourish as each season passes.
Now, in her third year with the Wild, Yaworski has become the player that rookies look up to.
“It’s nice,” she said. “You’re up there in your skill level and you know what the league is like. You’re experienced.”
It wasn’t long ago that she herself was looking up to older players for advice and instruction.
Playing with the elite girls of the north, Yaworski says every game is a big game.
“You have to come prepared to every game,” said the 17-year-old, who says the Wild team is further advanced than some of the other teams she has played for.
And while coming prepared to the rink is important, the Wild rely on each player even more than other teams.
The team is made up of players from the Norman region – including Flin Flon, The Pas, Thompson and other points – and therefore doesn’t practice near the amount of most teams.
“We don’t really practise much,” she said. “It’s tough. We have to think the game better than any other team.”
The girls attempt to practise together before tournaments and series if there is spare ice time in the community they are in, but Yaworski says that’s not always the case.
“Sometimes we practice in random rinks in Winnipeg…but most times there is no ice because the (time slots) are filled,” she said.
The Wild hold a 35-game schedule, but Yaworski sees the ice at least three
or four times a week.
She plays house league hockey with the Flin Flon Minor Hockey Association during the week and travels on the weekend to play with the Wild.
Yaworski says she now sees the importance of practise, as its evident when the team hasn’t practised together before a game.
“We’re on and off,” she said. “Sometimes we play (well without practice), but practice definitely helps. We play better.”
Yaworski has heard coaches explain the importance of practise over the years and has now come to learn that valuable lesson through experience.
“Practise is really important,” she said.
Yaworski has reaped the benefits of hockey and now shares that love of the sport with her younger siblings.
Her brother Sean, who was the reason she got into hockey, continues to play for the bantam New Edge Auto 2 team while their younger sister Lia plays for the AtoMc Blue atom team.
“Lia definitely looks up to me,” Megan said, proudly. “And Sean,” she trailed off with a laugh, “He used to but I don’t know if he still does. He just bugs me about how he’s better than me.”
Focus on school
Yaworski is now in her final year at Hapnot and plans to cross the stage this coming June along with her friends.
And while hockey is still a big part of her life, she says she plans to put it on the back burner while she attends university to become a nurse.
“I’m going to focus on school. It’s more important,” she said. “But I know I’ll miss (hockey) and I’ll be begging my Mom to bring my equipment to me so I can play on a rep team.”
Weekend action
The Wild started their three-game series with the Yellowhead Chiefs on Friday with a game in The Pas.
It came down to a shootout and gave the Wild a 3-2 win; what would be their only win of the series.
The following night, the Wild hosted the Chiefs and were shutout 1-0 before losing their second in a row, Sunday night, in The Pas with a 3-2 loss.
The Wild are partway through their season and
sit with a 12-18 record with 25 points, as of Dec. 22.
