alex poznikoff 640

Never satisfied with success

Alexandra Poznikoff has (almost) done it all in women’s hockey, but she wants more

Wendy Graves
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April 23, 2015
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Sometimes only making small steps is all the push a player needs to strive for bigger strides.

For Alexandra Poznikoff that nudge came this fall, when reality sank in that an invitation to Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team selection camp for the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship wasn’t coming.

The 2014 Esso Cup MVP had been part of the roster that competed in a summer series against the United States. But mixed feedback from the team’s management and coaching staff meant she’d be staying with the Edmonton Thunder for the foreseeable future.

The road from disappointment to Red Deer, Alta., then became a story about motivation – to be better – determination – to win that elusive Esso Cup and complete her medal collection from Canada’s National Female Midget Championship – and levity, in the form of a ukulele (more on that later).

Poznikoff’s performance last year at the Esso Cup, where she had six goals and four assists in seven games, caught the attention of Melody Davidson, general manager of national women’s team programs with Hockey Canada.

“[Poznikoff] is an incredibly hard worker,” says Davidson. “[And she’s] very fit. She came to our May camp last year and was the fittest athlete there. She earned her way into that invite spot and a spot on the summer team.”

Getting her first invitation from Hockey Canada meant a lot to Poznikoff, as did the experience of getting to represent her country.

“Just being on the ice with the United States was an eye-opener; to think you’re playing with them and how fast it was,” she says.

A couple of weeks later the management team shared its feedback with the forward.

“The energy was good,” she says they told her, “but just work on my heads-up play and get stronger.”

The team brass also wanted to see her move beyond just being the hard worker, says Davidson. “She’s a great teammate – the next step in her growth in university will be making quicker reads with the puck and finding her teammates earlier, then jumping in to support,” she says.

Although another immediate camp invite wasn’t on the way, Poznikoff gained valuable experience from the summer, as well as the knowledge that her game could be good enough to compete with the best.

She brought that new-found faith with her to the Thunder.

“I worked on a lot of things,” she says, listing her strength and puck control as just two. “I put in that extra time just to make myself that much better so hopefully next time I get another chance.”

The Edmonton Thunder has played in all seven Esso Cups, with Poznikoff now competing in her third. She has a bronze medal from 2013, a silver medal from last year and now, in her final year of Midget, hopes to captain the team to its first gold.

The consummate team player, she was prepared all season to do whatever it took just to make that end-of-season trip down Highway 2 to Red Deer.

That included playing a game in goal.

With one netminder out injured and another one writing her SATs, the Thunder found itself in a bind for a late-season game against the Peace Country Storm. The team told their leading scorer to bring her goalie equipment with her to Grande Prairie.

“I told the team you might need to be a little stronger defensively today,” she says, laughing at the memory. “They worked really hard; limited the shots, which was good. But it was stressful. I don’t know how [goalies] do it.”

The Thunder dropped the game 4-3 in a shootout; Poznikoff, though, still won the league scoring title.

As her time with the Thunder winds down, Poznikoff’s primary focus is on completing her Esso Cup medal collection. The team fell just short last year and is determined to find that extra goal it couldn’t last year.

“You remember it a lot,” she says. “You remember that feeling of that game and you’re like, I never want to feel that again, so you’re going to come back even harder.”

Having experienced highs at the 2013 National Women’s Under-18 Championship and the 2015 Canada Winter Games with Alberta – winning bronze at both – helps ease the sting of tough losses.

“They kind of remind you of one of the reasons you play the game – that feeling you get when you’re able to get a medal and just how cool it is to even get the opportunity.”

The Thunder struggled for most of the regular season, and getting one last crack at the Esso Cup seemed unlikely as the holidays approached. But a coaching change and a moment of merriment at the Mac’s Tournament were the turning point for the turn-around.

Poznikoff had been given a ukulele for Christmas and brought it with her to Calgary for the tournament.

“Kimberley Huisman brought hers and Madison Padgett brought her guitar and people would sing,” she says, adding it was a great way to keep everyone loose.

The Thunder has a tradition of singing its team song after every win. Maybe Poznikoff will have a chance to sing it once more – perhaps even with musical accompaniment – only this time with an Esso Cup championship banner providing the backdrop.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

emadziya@hockeycanada.ca 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

ssharkey@hockeycanada.ca

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

jknight@hockeycanada.ca

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