“
I GUESS
I GOT TO
PLAYING
HOCKEY
A LITTLE
LATE
”
with her community.
“I guess I got to playing
hockey a little late,” she
conceded. “I started playing
at the age of eight at Heritage
Community Centre. I was the
only girl on my team back
then. Still, I found it pretty
easy. I didn’t know a lot of kids
when I started, but hockey
was really good for me. I was a
shy kid and didn’t make many
friends until I played hockey
and I started to get to know
my teammates. Hockey got
me going on the way toward
making more friends. It was
really good for me. When I
was younger, I didn’t meet
a lot of people, but hockey
helped me and got me more
involved with my community.”
Despite her late start, she
worked extra hard to become
a proficient player. “When I
started, I was in the lower levels
like house league, but I loved
the game and I worked hard to
make to the higher levels,” she
explained. “I went to hockey
camps and took skating lessons
and I played on the outdoor
rinks as often as I could.
“I got started in the game
just by watching the NHL
and women’s Olympic teams
on TV. Hockey was always
around me. My cousins
played and while my parents
didn’t play hockey, my mom
played ringette. When I first
started, my mom asked me,
‘Ringette or hockey?’ and I
just wanted to be like all the
hockey stars I watched on TV.
“I started playing boys
hockey and then got involved
with girls’ hockey. I played 11
A-1 with the Luxton Falcons
and then the Woodhaven
Bruins. I played A-1 and then
Double A with the Titans
in Bantam and in Grade 9,
I tried out for Triple A and
made the team, but decided
to play high school hockey
at Westwood Collegiate.”
In high school hockey,
she was a star. That’s when
he game blossomed and
she became good enough
to eventually make her
mark at the junior level.
Oh, and in a prophetic
sense, she also won herself
a rookie of the year award
1 2 6 | G AME ON | PL AYOFF ED ITION 2018
“I played high school from
Grade 9 through Grade 12,”
she said. “In Grade 9, I played
both high school and Double
A and still got rookie of the
year in the high school league.
In Grade 9 we won the B
Division Championship. Then
in Grade 10, we moved up
into the A Division and didn’t
win any more championships,
but I was team captain
in Grade 11 and 12.”
This fall, she took a shot
at playing junior and not
only made Polar Ice, she
turned out to be one of the
best players in the league.
“I didn’t know anyone
personally when I started
although I’d played against
some of them in high
school,” she said. “It was
just like starting over.”
For Polar Ice co-head coach
Coach Jamie Bound, Alicia
has been a breath of fresh air.
“Alicia is everything you
want in a hockey player,” said
Bound. “She’s an absolute
pleasure to coach and brings
a great attitude and work
ethic to the rink every game
and practice. Her offensive
ability clearly shows up on
the stat sheets, but what
doesn’t show is she puts up
good offensive numbers while
being defensively responsible
in all three zones of the ice.
She is very hockey smart.
“Alicia always has a smile on
her face and gets along great
with all of her teammates. She’s
an absolute team player.”
For her part, Prociuk sticks
to her personal commitment to
be at her best on every shift.
“I’m always trying my
hardest,” she said. “I give it my
all in every game. I just want to
make sure that I do everything
I can to help my teammates.
“And I love our coaches.
They are always helping us
improve. We work very hard
on our fundamentals and the
coaches will do everything they
can to make us better. They’re
just so encouraging and they
always look out for the team.
It’s been a good year. I’m a little
surprised, but I figure that as
long as I work my hardest every
game, even if I’m not having
my best game, we’ll be OK.” ❍