Another former Parkland Ranger is heading to Whitehorse, Yukon this weekend. Dauphin's Zach Grouette will join team Manitoba at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships that kick off on May 6.
It's Zach's first time playing at the tournament.
"I think it's a great honour to represent Manitoba and I can't wait," said Grouette. "It's going to be a great experience and it's something I've never done before."
Zach will join his teammate, Jaegar Lapointe at the event. The two have played with each other for several years and they both led the Rangers this past season.
"I've played with him since we were kids and he's a great player and it'll be fun to play with him again," added Grouette. "We're both very excited for this."
This off-season is arguably Zach's most important one in his young hockey career so far. His plans are to play junior hockey next season and a good performance in Whitehorse could go a long way in trying to achieve that goal.
"I just have to be calm between the pipes and I need to focus on the puck and visualize the play," added Grouette. "There is going to be lots of scouts in attendance so I definitely have to be on my game. There will be a ton of skilled shooters so it's a good warmup before camp in the fall."
Zach, Jaegar and the rest of the team begin their tournament on May 7. The gold medal game is set May 14.
