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Two members of the U15 AA Kenora Thistles will be off to the Ottawa area next month to represent the region!
Kenora’s Nathan Oglive and Jaden Van Walleghem have been named to the Northwest Explorers roster to represent Hockey Northwestern Ontario at the Ontario Winter Games between February 3 and 6th in Renfrew County.
“I was just really pumped,” said Van Walleghem, a defenceman. “It took a while for them to announce the roster. I was antsy over the last couple of days. It was after a practice that my mom told me. I was super excited. I texted Nathan too right away.”
The Golden Knights fans both say they’ve been skating since they were about 2-years-old and both have been playing for about a decade now in Kenora.
Unfortunately, Oglive, a forward, suffered a broken arm in a game against the Rockets on Sunday after the announcement – and he’ll be unavailable to play. But he says he still plans to fly out and support the team in Renfrew.
“I had a little bit of a weird hit, and [my arm] was all crooked. We rushed to the hospital and we found out it was broken,” he explained.
“I’m not sure if I’ll fly out with the team yet, but I know I’m going to go and be there for the team, and it’ll be super fun. A little bit of bad timing but it’s still going to be fun,” adds Oglive.
We’re told it’s been many years since a Kenora player, let alone two, has been named to the team. The team is made up of mostly Thunder Bay players, as well as defenceman Dax LaPlante from Emo.
Ontario’s 2023 Winter Games were postponed in 2022 due to COVID-19. The games will feature young athletes from across the province, with 18 different venues involved.