Muskie cracks lineup of ‘Queens’

After a successful season with the Muskie girls’ hockey team, 15-year-old Nina Bird of Fort Frances is moving to Thunder Bay to play for the ‘AAA’ Queens.
Bird was selected to play on the team after an intense three-day tryout in late May.
“I didn’t [expect to make it]. I thought it was pretty tough,” Bird admitted. She said she was shocked because she expected some of the other girls to make it ahead of her. But when she went to find out, she was very excited to have cracked the lineup.
The tryouts, which attracted almost 50 girls, consisted mostly of scrimmages and drills.
Bird will go to Thunder Bay later this week to receive a fitness program to work on over the summer.
She will head back there at the beginning of August to meet the family she will be billeted with, then return for good at the end that month to begin the hockey season.
Bird said she is looking forward to this experience because of all the opportunity it will bring.
“I’m pumped about it. We get to go across Canada and into the States playing hockey,” she enthused.
Bird plays defence—a position she enjoys because she can see the whole ice and gets more chances to rush with the puck.
She believes she stood out in the tryouts because of her determination.
“When I was there, I never really gave up,” she remarked. “I just kept going as hard as I could go. I kept skating, kept my legs moving, and my passing was really dead on.”
Bird has been playing hockey since she was five years old, and is really excited about the gains that girls have made in the sport over that span.
“Girls’ hockey is growing really fast. There is more and more girls every year trying out,” she noted. “It’s getting way more competitive than it used to be.”
As such, Bird is hoping the chance to play in Thunder Bay will open up opportunities, such as more people watching the games, meeting new people, winning scholarships, and maybe even playing for the national team some day.
“You get to go places and you get good opportunities. If you can further your career in hockey, that’s awesome,” she said.
But Bird also expects there will be challenges, such as being away from her family and attending a new school. At the same time, though, she said she hasn’t had a chance to really think about all those things yet.
Bird said part of the opportunities that have come her way were due to the great season she and the other Muskie girls had this year. After missing the previous one with a knee injury, she was happy to be back in the game.
“The team this year was awesome,” she enthused. “I think it was the first year that the Muskie girls made it to the third round in the playoffs.”
Bird has big ambitions for her career in hockey. She plans to spend the year playing in Thunder Bay, then see what opportunities come up.
“Maybe I’ll have the chance to move on further,” she reasoned.
Ultimately, Bird would like to play university hockey either in Calgary or somewhere in southern Ontario.