麻豆社区

Linsey Eby is easy to notice at Midget A Mustangs practice.

Her long, blonde ponytail flings to and fro as she skates hard to the blueline, hits the brakes and uses some quick crossovers to reverse her skating stride and defend against an oncoming forward.

The 17-year-old defenceman earned a rare achievement this fall, cracking the roster of the territory's top rep hockey team.

Eby is the first to make the roster in more than a decade, according to the recollections of Mustangs' "historian鈥� Jim Stephens.

Crystal Stewart tended goal for the Midget A squad in the early 2000's before moving on to a fine university career with the St. Francis Xavier X-Women in Antigonish, N.S.

"She was pretty good,鈥� Stephens recalled today.

Eby is aiming to follow a similar career path to Stewart, hoping her season with the Midget A rep squad earns her a spot on a university team.

"It's pretty cool, I guess,鈥� said Eby, a Grade 12 student at Vanier Catholic Secondary School. "It's pretty fun. The only difference is I don't change with them, but then I go in (the boys' dressing room) 15 minutes early, and it's like I'm on the team.

"On the ice, they don't treat me different. Even during tryouts, they were pretty welcoming 鈥� it's not like I'm an outcast on the team.鈥�

Eby said she is looking forward to hitting the ice more often this season, and facing off with men in the local Rec A hockey league.

"A lot of the third-year midget players left, so this is a really young team,鈥� she said. "For this year, I want to try not to be on the bench often.鈥�

Eby first started playing hockey at age 10, and her interest in the sport was piqued when she won a trip to attend the NHL All-Star Game in Dallas, brushing shoulders with Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and country super麻豆社区Garth Brooks.

"That kind of set off her career,鈥� her mother, Laura Eby, admitted.

Fifteen-year-old Jack Blisner is expected to be Eby's defence partner this season.

"She tries really, really hard, a lot harder than most of the guys,鈥� Blisner said after practice Wednesday. "You could tell she really wanted it in tryouts. She's a really good at-home defenceman, and she's really good at passing, so it helps me out a little bit.鈥�

The young defenceman added that while he and his teammates have had to make some dressing-room adjustments, Eby's personality has made it a smooth transition.

"I think everybody likes having her around,鈥� he said. "She's really nice.鈥�

Assistant coach Jordan Borgford said the Female Mustangs team has a very wide age range, and playing midget will allow Eby to compete at a higher level.

He said Eby impressed in tryouts and earned her spot on the team.

"She has a work ethic second to none, and is a very positive kid,鈥� Borgford told the Star. "And she wants to be a better hockey player. This gives Linsey a little better opportunity to compete, especially in the men's league. She'll get to play against some pretty good quality hockey players in town and gauge herself like that.鈥�

Borgford said he and head coach Barry Blisner will need to adapt slightly, but doesn't foresee any issues arising.

"The idea is, for games in particular, all the guys have got to be ready a half hour before the game, so she brings all her stuff in to be a part of the team for the rest of the game,鈥� he said. "A big part of hockey, and a lot of team sports, is what goes on in the dressing room. So we are trying to work at creating that atmosphere that includes her 100 per cent.鈥�

Borgford praised Female Mustangs coach Louis Bouchard and Linsey's father Kelly Eby for helping the young blueliner get to where she is today.

"Obviously, they've done a tremendous job with Linsey,鈥� he said. "We're just benefiting from that. She's a hockey player. I don't look at her as a female hockey player 鈥� she's a hockey player on our team.鈥�

Laura Eby said her daughter continues to impress her parents with her on-ice success.

"We're absolutely ecstatic about this,鈥� Laura said. "She's come so far in her development.鈥�

Laura said her daughter worked hard to battle back from recent knee surgery, and is now reaping the rewards.

Linsey's older sister Linea previously starred on the ice as a curler with the territory's dominant junior girls rink, Team Koltun.

Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association president Carl Burgess said times are changing in the rep program.

Three more girls made A-level Mustangs' rosters this season, including Olivia Blisner (Atom), Piper Fordham (Atom), and Maddie Nicholson (Peewee).

The Midget Mustangs will hit the road to Richmond, B.C. next week for their first Tier 2 competition Outside 鈥� the Seafair Icebreaker Tournament.

"We are a young group, so we really have to rely on the first-year kids to step up,鈥� said Borgford.