Taryn Leighton is changing on the fly.
Fresh from playing seven games in as many days at the Esso Cup nationals, the youngest member of the U18 AAA Lloydminster PWM Steelers steps right into more intense hockey this week at the Alberta Challenge, the provincial showcase event for up-and-coming female players.
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The six-team tournament runs from April 30 through May 4 in Red Deer, bringing together 120 elite players from across the province.
“It’s really exciting, honestly,” Leighton said Saturday (April 26). “I think it’ll settle in more tonight, but I really haven’t had a chance to think about it yet.
“I’m going to spend the next couple of days sleeping and getting rest and then be ready to go for Wednesday.”
Leighton, who turned 15 in January, played as an underager this past season with the Steelers, who have just hosted the Esso Cup national U18 AAA girls’ championship April 20-26 in Lloydminster.
The Steelers punched above their weight all week at the Centennial Civic Centre, before losing 4-1 to the North York (Ont.) Storm in Saturday’s bronze-medal game. Most notably, Lloyd lost 1-0 in overtime against the eventual gold-medallists, the Edmonton Junior Oilers, in a dramatic Friday night semifinal.
“These girls have something to be proud of,” Leighton said as the Steelers mingled at the rink Saturday. “We put our name out there for the town and they obviously supported us. And we showed them support. (Friday) night was a true believer of that.”
Leighton, who is from just outside Kitscoty, plays defence with poise that belies her age.
“Taryn is a phenomenal D,” said Steelers coach Dan Auchenberg, who’s also the general manager of the Lloydminster Minor Hockey Association.
“She plays with us as an underager and she still has three more years (of U18 eligibility). Taryn is so passionate. From the get-go, she was one of our hardest workers in everything she did. She worked extremely hard. She’s going to be successful down the road.”
The immediate road to Red Deer puts the 2010-born Leighton back among her peers for an early taste of Hockey Alberta’s elite development program.
“This is kind of my first big thing,” she said of provincial representation. “I haven’t really got a chance to think about it yet. But it’s pretty much like this week all over again, just with girls my age and younger. I get to compete in Red Deer with the best in Alberta, so it’ll be fun.”
In a season full of excitement and development for the Steelers, the end of their Esso Cup run was an eventful and emotional time for the girls as they bid their goodbyes.
“I think we were a little bit sad the season is ending,” said Leighton. “Just sad to say goodbye to all these girls.”
They played for six straight nights and in the afternoon of Day 7. But the Steelers weren’t using fatigue as an excuse.
“I mean, I don’t even know if it took a toll,” said Leighton, who scored a goal and four points in seven tournament games. “The fans coming out to cheer us on, we got excited for every single game. Everybody came out to play. It was awesome.”
One of Leighton’s long-term goals is to play with Canada’s national women’s team, which had representatives scouting the Esso Cup action in Lloydminster.
“I definitely look up to a lot of girls,” Leighton said. “Hailey Wickenheiser, I followed her story all the way through. And then, Canada’s national team is something I definitely strive to be a part of. It’s something I’ve kind of always looked up to.”
Leighton was just three years old when she took her first strides toward a hockey career.
“So, I’ve been playing for a good 12 years now,” she said. “My dad just kind of put skates on me — in a small town, hockey is what you do — and ever since I kind of fell in love with it.”
Her versatility was evident on a national stage in Lloyd as the Steelers’ coaching staff gave her key assignments and even moved her up front on occasion to help spark the offence.
As a rookie this past winter, Leighton scored six goals and 14 points in 28 games playing up in the 18U AAA division of the Alberta Female Hockey League.
LLOYD AREA WELL-REPRESENTED
It was also a big year for Lloyd’s U15 AA program as the Richardson Jewellery Steelers were provincial finalists. That success is reflected among other Alberta Challenge selections from the area.
Along with Leighton, eight other players from the Lloydminster region have been selected from regional camps to test their skills against the best in the province. That group includes six from Lloydminster and one each from Cold Lake and Irma. They’re all players who were born in 2010 or 2011.
Regional camps were held in Beaumont and Cochrane in early April. For the provincial Challenge, each of the six teams consists of two goaltenders, six players on defence and 12 forwards.
Leighton is part of the North Yellow team, along with Lloydminster forwards Ava Hufnagel and Mairen Toutant.
The Lloyd contingent at the showcase tournament includes North Blue forwards Alyssa Payne and Karsyn Woytiuk and the North Red duo of goaltender Kenzie Zidar and forward Farrah Schlosser. Other local members of North Red are forwards Molly Angelopoulos of Cold Lake and Sadie Larsen of Irma.
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