The hours of early morning skills practice and outdoor skates at the Rock Street Playground rink are certainly paying off for 17-year-old Mave O'Hagan.
For the talented young forward, 2021 is a year she will not soon forget.
In March, O'Hagan was selected to be part of a unique national Rising Teammate Mentorship Program in partnership with Hockey Canada.
That's where she teamed up with one of her heroes; Team Canada star Natalie Spooner.
"She has been a role model of mine for many, many years," said O'Hagan.
The great experiences did not stop for O'Hagan who played her first year of junior hockey with Cambridge in the COVID-19 season.
The fact the season was shortened due to the pandemic did not impact O'Hagan this spring when NCAA Division I hockey programs were lining up to greet her as her recruiting window opened for the American schools.
"I think originally when I committed I was overwhelmed with excitement," she said.
"As far as NCAA regulations go, programs are not allowed to reach out until June 15 of grade 10 so for me that day hit and I was in contact with multiple schools and as the summer progressed started to narrow it down and really found what I was looking for in a school."
That school of choice was St. Lawrence University nestled in the northern end of New York State near giant Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge located south of Ottawa; likely a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive from North Bay.
"The coaching staff and the campus along with the program I will be taking came together and I landed at St. Lawrence," said O'Hagan.
"When I started to narrow it down, I think I really found what I was looking for in a school. The coaching staff and the campus along with the program I will be taking came together for me and I landed at St. Lawrence."
The North Bay forward is in her second season playing junior hockey for the Cambridge Rivulettes PWHL team.
She recently returned from a pre-season tournament injury and netted her first real Provincial Women's Hockey League goal.
While O'Hagan humbly admits she is excited about a bright future as a hockey player and potentially a candidate down the road for Canada's Olympic team, she does not forget where she is from and who helped her get to where she is today.
That starts with family and her dedicated father Sean, a former OHL goaltender in the early 90s who is coaching Mave's younger sister Quinn with the Ice Boltz.
"I'd say my dad has been the biggest influence for sure. From a young age, he has always instilled in me the reasons that I play hockey. I think a really huge part of hockey that is instilled really young is you are playing to win and playing to succeed and I think that is a big part but the most important part is remembering why you play which is because you love it and you have a passion for the game.
"He has always been there to push me to my full potential but also catch me when I fall because it has not been all perfect and exactly the way I have planned but I think every challenge there has been a lesson for sure and he is definitely the one to remind me of that."
O'Hagan also credits role models like the Dominico sisters [Maria and Malory] and Madison Desmarais for inspiring her to be like them.
"I think it is very rewarding to me, but it is also a testament to all the good people around me," she said.
"I know I would not have achieved this without the people that have surrounded me and helped me through. My family has been a really huge part of it so this is not just my accomplishment but theirs as well for sure. I can't forget all the coaches that I have had in North Bay and in Cambridge. Dan Selin has been my skills coach since I was six years old so he is a huge part of it for sure."
The former North Bay Ice Boltz forward who played eight seasons with the North Bay program also wants to give a shout-out to all my coaches and teammates along with her coaching staff and teammates in Cambridge.
That attitude, mixed with her talent may be a perfect combination for another great North Bay hockey role model.
