MERIT CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION MWJHL PLAYER OF THE MONTH
CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA
Natasha Esquivel
Earns MWJHL
MVP on Merit
By Scott Taylor
Photos by Tannis Esquivel
I
t certainly was a wonderful season of hockey for Western Preda-
tors captain, Natasha Esquivel.
Not only was she named the MWJHL’s Most Valuable Player for
the 2016-17 season and was honored by Hockey Canada with the Iso-
bel Gathorne-Hardy Award for leadership and commitment to the
game, but she is also the Game On Magazine-MERIT Contractors
Association of Manitoba Player of the Month for March/April 2017.
Esquivel, 21, was the fourth-leading scorer in the MWJHL this sea-
son. She had 11 goals and 18 points in 23 games with the Western
Predators, a team that finished 12-12-3. In six playoff games, she had
seven goals and 10 points and finished third in post-season scoring.
But there is more to her game than just goals and points. She plays
hard at both ends of the rink, can kill penalties and play the power
play and she’s a team leader with plenty of MWJHL experience.
In fact, Esquivel just completed her fourth year in the MWJHL and
has essentially graduated out of women’s junior hockey, but there
has been a proposal made to extend the MWJHL to fifth-year play-
ers and Esquivel is excited about the prospect.
“I hope that fifth year players will be able to come back next year,
but if not, I’d really like to help coach,” Esquivel said. “I already
coach the Dakota Lancers girls team now and I’d coached the Vics
for the past five years although I had to stop this year because of
school, work, reffing and playing hockey.”
Esquivel started playing hockey when she was four-years-old with
the Dakota Community Centre Lazers.
8 GAME ON
2017 CHAMPIONS EDITION
“I started off playing boys hockey and continued for a while, play-
ing 8-A1, 9-A1 and then 10-A1,” she explained. “Then I moved over to
girls hockey and played 11 and 12 girls and then, at 13, moved over
to the girls Bantam Vics. I started high school in Grade 9 and I have
a later birthday so when I started high school I was still just 14, so
I started playing high school hockey at 14. I did all my Grade 9, 10,
11 and 12 years with the Dakota Lancers. I also did Bantam Vics in
Grade 9, then just played high school in Grades 10 and 11 and then,
in Grade 12, I went back and played midget Vics with the girls. At
18, I graduated high school and came straight to the MWJHL. I also
played a couple of spring and summer leagues with Manitoba Light-
ning and then after Grade 12, came right here.”
A fourth-year Kinesiology student at the University of Winnipeg,
who spends most of her time in the Gupta Building or at one of the
city’s rinks, Esquivel makes no excuses for her passion.
“Hockey is my life,” she said with a wide smile. “Yeah, hockey is
my life.” n
MERIT Contractors Association is the only organization of its kind in Manitoba that
supports and represents the unique and diverse interests of open shop contractors.
The organization consists of more than 270 Manitoba open shop companies, ranging
from very small to very large. MERIT companies and their employees are committed to
achieving the highest standards of safety, quality, efficiency and economy. And this year,
MERIT is proud to support amateur hockey throughout Manitoba and is pleased to present
the Game On-MERIT Contractors Association of Manitoba Women’s Junior Hockey League
Player of the Month.