The accolades just keep piling up for Moose Jaw hockey player Brooklyn Nimegeers.
Only a couple of weeks after signing on to play NCAA hockey with the Ivy League’s Princeton Tigers, it was announced Friday that the 16-year-old defenceman will be among 20 players representing Saskatchewan at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
The selection is part of the Sask First program, which sees top players across all age groups from the province chosen each season for national-level tournaments. The women's Canada Games tournament features under-18 players, while the men’s tournament will be a U16 event.
Being named to the team should come as no surprise to anyone who has kept an eye on Nimegeers’ progression as an elite player.
After emerging as a scoring star with the Moose Jaw Mavericks as a 12-year-old, Nimegeers cracked the roster of the Sask Female AAA Hockey League Regina Rebels in 2020-21, but saw that first campaign shut down due to the pandemic.
Nimegeers’ first season with the Rebels was a stellar one, as she put up five goals and 26 points in 30 games to finish 15th overall among the league’s learning scorers. She was also the league’s top-scoring defenceman, finishing seven points better than Notre Dame 17-year-old Payten Evans. Nimegeers then put up two goals and six points in 11 playoff games as the Rebels fell in four games in the semifinal to the eventual league champion Hounds.
Things haven’t slowed down for Nimegeers in the 2022-23 campaign, as she’s currently 10th in league scoring with seven goals and 15 points for the league-leading 11-3-0-0 Rebels. Her point totals are once against tops among defenceman, five points better than Saskatoon Stars standout and Team Sask teammate Jocelyn Fiala.
Female hockey takes part during the second week in P.E.I., with Saskatchewan -- who finished in sixth place in the 2019 Canada Winter Games -- playing in Pool B with B.C., New Brunswick and Quebec.
Team Sask opens their run on Feb, 27 against B.C. before taking on Quebec on Feb. 28 and New Brunswick on Mar. 1. The qualification round is set for Mar. 2, followed by the quarterfinals on Mar. 3, semifinals Mar. 4 and medal games on Mar. 5.
Saskatchewan has won two medals since women’s hockey became part of the Games in 1991, those being a silver in 1995 and bronze in 2003.
You can follow Nimegeers’ season at www.sfu18aaahl.com, stay up to date on all the Team Saskatchewan news at www.teamsask.ca and the 2023 Canada Games at www.2023canadagames.ca.
