The community of Athabasca can take pride in Team Alberta’s bronze medal in men’s hockey at the Canada Winter Games.
Not only did they contribute one of their own, Keegan Kanzig, to the effort, but they also inspired him with their support.
Speaking from his home in Fort Saskatchewan shortly after returning from the Games in Halifax, Kanzig expressed his gratitude for the vocal support from his hometown fans, friends and family during the Games.
“It sure helped a lot,” he said. “I want to thank everyone for all of their support.”
Kanzig, a skilled defenseman who plays AAA hockey in Fort Saskatchewan, was a key contributor to Team Alberta’s efforts at the Games. He even took on a leadership role by wearing the ‘A’ of an assistant captain on his jersey.
With Kanzig patrolling the blueline, Team Alberta went undefeated in the preliminary round of the tournament, dropping Saskatchewan (4-0), New Brunswick (6-5) and Manitoba (7-1). They beat New Brunswick again in the quarterfinal (3-2) before bowing out of the gold medal chase with a 5-4 shootout loss to Team Quebec.
Unsurprisingly, that loss was a tough pill to swallow for the young athletes.
“It was very disappointing when we didn’t make it to the gold medal game. A shootout was a bad way to end it. It was a tough way to lose and it hurt a lot,” said Kanzig.
“That night it was tough, but the next morning we had to refocus and motivate ourselves to go for the bronze. That’s still an honor at a tournament like that.”
They were able to do just that on Feb. 18, as they bounced back with a 5-3 win over Team Ontario to take home the bronze medal. In doing so, they kept an impressive streak alive, as Team Alberta has now earned a medal in the last six Canada Winter Games, dating back to 1991.
Kanzig, who is no stranger to a high level of hockey competition, said he had never played against skilled players like those he encountered at the Games.
“It was a higher level of competition than I had been exposed to. There were lots of fast, skilled players,” he said. “It was great to see all the skill and talent from across Canada, and to see how not only myself but the province of Alberta compared to that.”
Given their impressive third-place finish, it seems Alberta stacks up pretty well with the rest of the provinces.
Kanzig had prior experience with all of his teammates at the Games, mostly through playing against them in AAA hockey. But the group was also able to mesh at tryouts and camps, and the familiarity they achieved was a key reason for their success.
After the Games, he returned to his Fort Saskatchewan team, which recently bowed out of the playoffs. Next season, Kanzig hopes to enter the Western Hockey League with the Chilliwack Bruins, the team that drafted him in 2010.
“I’ll be working my hardest to make that team.”
