Not that there was any doubt about it, but Chilliwack hockey star Aynsley D’Ottavio is going to the Canada Winter Games.
The talented teen made the 20 player roster for U18 Team B.C. after going through an intense selection process that started last April. D’Ottavio was one of 177 athletes participating in two Program of Excellence (POE) camps in Salmon Arm and Richmond. Sixty-nine skaters moved on to a provincial camp in Penticton in July and they had eyeballs on them as they moved into their fall seasons.
D’Ottavio is a defender for the Fraser Valley Rush of the B.C. Elite (AAA) Hockey League where she is producing crazy offensive numbers. The Rosedale product has nine goals and 34 points in just 17 games, good for second in league scoring behind Rush teammate Leah Barnard, a forward who has 17 goals and 41 points over the same period. The league’s next highest scoring blueliner is another of D’Ottavio’s teammates, Nahvin Bal, with 12 points.
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D’Ottavio was in Whistler for one final camp last weekend, participating in practices, dryland training and two exhibition games against the U18 A Sea 2 Sky Bears.
“It was the hardest selection process I have been a part of and each player gave it everything they had,” said Team B.C. bench boss Kris Hogg. “Although the roster is 20 today, we know that the other players released will continue to be a part of the program.”
D’Ottavio and Hogg have previous experience together as part of the gold medal-winning Team B.C. entry at the U18 Western Regional Championship in 2021.
The 2023 Canada Winter Games will be held Feb. 18 to Mar. 5 in Prince Edward Island. D’Ottavio’s crew will be in a pool with New Brunswick, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Other teams in the tournament include ALberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Newfoundland, Northwest Territory, Yukon Territory and the hosts from PEI.
For more info see 2023canadagames.ca/
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