A Flin Flon-born midget hockey phenom is appearing on Manitoba’s provincial girls’ Indigenous team once again.
Joie Simon was named to team Manitoba for the upcoming National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC), marking her second consecutive year on the team. Simon, born and raised in Flin Flon, is a member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation in Newfoundland and a former captain of the Norman Wild female bantam program. After being unable to continue her high-level hockey career in Flin Flon, Simon joined the Yellowhead Chiefs AAA club in Shoal Lake, Man. last year.
Simon, currently in her junior year of high school and her second season with the club, is one of the Chiefs’ leading scorers this season. She tops her team with 30 goals through 46 games in all competitions and sits second on her team with 45 points according to Yellowhead’s website.
No other northern players will join her on the team, but Simon will be accompanied by teammate Mya Kubrakovich, listed as a defender and a member of the Pine Creek First Nation.
Simon, who can play both as a forward and a defender, was a defenceman on the Manitoba team at last year’s NAHC, finishing second after a 4-1 gold medal game loss to team Saskatchewan.
Simon, in an interview with The Reminder when she was named to last year’s team, said her goal was to potentially earn a scholarship to play university or college hockey, with an aim at someday playing for Team Canada.
“The one thing that I know I am going to try and get is a good scholarship to a good school where I will be able to play hockey. Hopefully, I will play hockey for the rest of my life,” she said last season.
This year’s NAHC tournament will take place in Regina, Sask. May 11-16.
