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Knute Johnsgaard is the latest Yukoner to join Canada鈥檚 senior cross-country ski team.

The 22-year-old confirmed the news during an interview with the Star yesterday afternoon.

鈥淚鈥檓 training with the very top guys in the country who are some of the fastest in the world,鈥� Johnsgaard said from Canmore, Alta., where he has been training at the Alberta World Cup Academy for the last two weeks.

The designation marks the fulfillment of a longtime goal for Johnsgaard, who has had the senior team in his sights ever since he cracked the Canadian junior roster in 2010.

鈥淢aking the national team has been one of my lifelong goals, second only to the Olympics,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so happy to have this opportunity.鈥�

Johnsgaard joins Yukon female stalwarts Emily Nishikawa and Dahria Beatty on the 12-member senior team.

Annah Hanthorn continues to hold a roster position with the junior squad, while Nishikawa鈥檚 older brother Graham Nishikawa is a guide for the Para-Nordic World Cup team.

Johnsgaard said it was a 14th place finish in the sprint race at the U23 World Skiing Championships in Kazakhstan in February that eventually put him on the team.

The Mount Lorne skier said the designation has given him a great sense of accomplishment for his work since graduating from F.H. Collins Secondary School.

鈥淢ost of my high school classmates already have a diploma from a university, but this is what I鈥檝e been working for the past five years since I鈥檝e been done high school,鈥� he offered.

Yukon head coach Alain Masson said he is excited for Johnsgaard to unlock his potential in Canmore.

鈥淚 think it will be good for him to train with faster male skiers during the year and should help him improve his skiing next year,鈥濃�圡asson said in an email this morning.

Johnsgaard admitted he will miss the Yukon this summer.

鈥淚鈥檓 really going to miss certain training adventures unique to the Yukon like hunting and packrafting. At the same time, Canmore offers new advantages like a multi-million dollar treadmill, and closer monitoring and coaching with the national team.鈥�

Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth said he believes Johnsgaard has the physical makeup to excel with the senior national team.

鈥淗e鈥檚 got the attributes to ski at a world-class level,鈥� Wadsworth said. 鈥淚 get one discretionary choice for men and women. I haven鈥檛 used them a lot, but this year I鈥坉id choose Knute.鈥�

Johnsgaard spent the last few seasons with the Yukon鈥圗lite Squad, and he鈥檚 proud of what that team accomplished together.

鈥淚t was hard for me to part ways with Colin Abbott. I definitely couldn鈥檛 have made it to where I was without the support of my teammates.鈥�

Johnsgaard isn鈥檛 the only Yukoner making headlines with Cross Country Canada this month.

Pavlina Sudrich has joined the Alberta World Cup Academy as a coach. The 29-year-old is the only female in Canada actively coaching at the high-performance level.

鈥淚 always hoped to build enough experience to coach at this level,鈥濃�坰aid Sudrich, who took up her new role earlier this month. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big honour.鈥�

Meanwhile, skier Kendra Murray is expected to begin training under Sudrich in Canmore this fall.

Finally, Natalie Hynes, Mac Prawdzick and Marcus Deuling were three of 22 junior skiers identified for next winter鈥檚 national talent squad.

The goal of the talent squad is to ease the potential future transition to a national development centre. Members of the talent squad also receive nominal funding.

Hynes cracked the roster by finishing in the top 11 in aggregate standings at the 2015 Haywood nationals.

Prawdzick and Deuling were also selected based on their rankings from last season鈥檚 national championships.

鈥淚t is great to get the recognition,鈥濃�圡asson said of his junior athletes.

鈥淚t will allow them to attend a training camp with the national team this summer which should be beneficial for them.鈥�