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First-year Hockey Mountie Sydney Stotski always wanted to leave home for her university experience. Originally from Oakbank, MB, she had not been to the East Coast before visiting ���� for a tour.

“��ñ���� contacted me after seeing me play in a hockey tournament,” she says. “It has been a great experience going to school on the East Coast in New Brunswick.”

Stotski began playing hockey at nine years old in her community league with the Springfield Ice Hawks. After two years she switched to women’s hockey, playing five years with the Eastman Selects AAA program. During this time, she won two provincial titles and had the opportunity to go to the national women’s midget championship, the Esso Cup, after sweeping three top teams and defeating the first-place team in the provincials. A multi-sport athlete, Stotski also played competitive rugby and football, earning MVP honours in both.

“I love meeting new people through the sport,” she says. “It’s just fun for me and I like the competitiveness of playing at a high level.”

A centre, Stotski believes her greatest strength in the game is her aggressiveness.

“Lots of people underestimate me because I am small, but I like being a defensive forward, backchecking, and using my speed,” she says.

She was recently honoured with Athlete of the Week accolades for her strong start to the season with the Mounties.

“It’s a pretty good honour,” she says. “It means to me that someone finally sees what I can do.”

Being a student-athlete has added a lot to her experience at ����.

“I have met so many people on my team and from all the other teams,” she says. “I am far from home and meeting everyone has made this a new home for me.”

Stotski is studying sociology and plans on a career in social work.