The past year of McKiya Mazur's hockey career has been one for the books. She had the chance to play for Team Manitoba at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. She also played for Team Manitoba at the 2019 National Women's U18 Championship.
The Russell native wasn't done there. She also signed her national letter of intent to St.FX. That means she'll be joining the women's hockey team in the fall for her first season of university hockey.
An already padded resume was increased last month as well. Playing on the Rink Hockey Academy Varisty team, Mazur helped the ladies win their division in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League which meant they ended the season with a championship.
In the finals, Mazur had one assist in a 4-0 win against Okanagan Hockey Academy.
"That was definitely the most hype game I've ever played in. They had a lot of momentum because their crowd was huge," said Mazur. "We just did what we had to do and we came out on top. It was pretty incredible."
Heading into the playoffs, the team was the hands-on favourite to win the title. They went 22-1-1 in the regular season. They finished the campaign with 18 straight wins and they had a +120 goals differential. Okanagan, meanwhile, finished the season with 15 wins and a +30 goals differential.
"We were hungry to win and the more we won, it kind of fuelled our fire," continued Mazur. "Playoffs are a different story, you can't get too comfortable. Anyone can beat anyone in the playoffs, so we had to focus and we did."
The celebration that followed the win is surely one that McKiya will never forget.
"We went back into the dressing room and our coaches got us sparkling apple cider and we sang "We Are The Champions," she added. "It was pretty incredible to share that last moment with this great team before we went back home."
The CSSHL season didn't end for McKiya without one more award to add to her already long and successful resume. She was the female recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year award, a first for her. The award is given to a player who makes a difference in their community and McKiya sure did that.
During the holidays, she delivered food hampers in downtown Winnipeg and despite her very busy hockey schedule, she maintained an 85 percent average at Shaftesbury High School.
She also coached the Intro to Hockey program in her hometown of Russell.
"That was super unexpected. I had no idea that I would win that award, they presented it during one of our games in Pentiction," continued Mazur. "It's a huge honour and I'm really proud to have won that, it truly means a lot to me."
Mazur has now returned to her hometown where she continues to prepare for her rookie university season. The Russell native is set to join an X-Women team that finished last season with a record of 22-6.
"I'm just hoping that the season starts on time, no one really knows right now with COVID-19," added Mazur. "I'm so very excited about this opportunity, I've been waiting for a long time to get this chance so I can't wait and we'll see how it goes."
"It's nice that I'm joining a team that has had success in the past, it's going to be a great spot for me," she concluded.
