An X-Treme team

By Courtenay Adams

The Calgary Oval X-Treme team is gearing up for another successful season.

While most of the roster is composed of familiar faces, a few new players are eager to enter the Oval mix. Having started the WWHL season with a victory on the road against the Strathmore Rockies, the girls are sharpening their blades for this weekend’s upcoming, home-opener battle with the rival Edmonton Chimos. The X-Treme appeared sharp during Monday morning’s practice, and a sense of optimism about the upcoming season was virtually unanimous among the players and the coach.

Mario Amantea, the new head coach of the X-Treme, is confident that the girls’ upcoming season will be a successful one.

“We have a great team,” said Amantea. “So far [they have] been working very, very hard and I think we have a good chance of making the nationals again and defending our Esso National Championship.”

Three-time Olympic gold-medalist and returning X-Treme team member Hayley Wickenheiser has returned for her seventh season. While noting that the team still has a lot of work ahead of them to prepare, she continues to feel that the Calgary team will be the team in the league to beat.

“I think that we’ve always been a good skating, fore-checking, back-checking, pressure team,” said Wickenheiser. “We have six national team defencemen. That always helps to get the puck out of your own end. And, really, just the speed of play and the way we move the puck is our greatest strength.”

Kelly Bechard, a fellow Olympian and returning team player, dually notes the X-Treme’s skating abilities and puck movement as among the team’s strengths.

“We’re a very good passing team and skating team,” said Bechard. “That’s what you need in women’s hockey. I think we have a good foundation of players that play that style of hockey.”

Considering the players’ level of talent and the pride they take in their game, it is no wonder that 14 former X-Tremers have returned from previous seasons. For Bechard, the X-Treme’s draw is the team’s level of professionalism and structure. She feels the Oval program is headed in the right direction towards creating a standard for what women’s hockey in Canada should be. Wickenheiser has returned for similar reasons, hoping to improve both her own game, and the game as a whole.

“It’s the best place in the world to play hockey if you’re a female hockey player,” Wickenheiser said. “You have a chance to be on the ice everyday. There’s good coaching and good competitive practices. That’s what makes you better.”

Wickenheiser also states that players should always work to improve regardless of skill level.

“You want to play good hockey,” she said. “Sitting back or dumping the puck doesn’t help anybody and we have to make the game better. Other teams need to see the level that they should be at.”

She added that stepping up to that learning curve is important for teams.

“It’s not very much fun [for the other team] but it’s all a part of the growing pains of hockey,” she said.

There is an equally compelling draw for the new faces to the X-Treme team. Among them is the Chinese National Team member Linuo (Leanor) Wang. Along with Chinese National teammate Yao (Sweet) Shi, Wang is hoping to improve her skills for upcoming championships on the world stage. She also enjoys the availability of ice time in Canada, due to the presence of more public interest in the sport.

“In China we didn’t have many teams,” Wang said. “We didn’t have many girls playing hockey. They do not know about hockey.”

Wang also noted Canadians are lucky to be able to watch the game all the time.

Coach Amantea believes the new Chinese players fit in really well with the team, contributing to the overall balance that is the X-Treme’s greatest strength.

With this promising roster, it looks like a goldren season for the Oval X-Treme.