Young Hockey Player Chosen to Play Internationally

Information courtesy of Laura Ostrander.

The Westborough Patch Athlete of the Week honors go to one of the area’s most promising young hockey players, an eight-year competitor in the sport whose talents are taking her around the world, and she hasn’t even reached her teenage years.

Westborough’s Emme Ostrander, soon to be 13, is a seventh grader at Venerini Academy in Worcester and a PeeWee Major AAA Elite ice hockey goaltender. She is also the only girl on her team.

Each week, Emme spends six to eight hours a week on the ice at team practice, goalie training and games. She then spends another two to three hours a week on physical conditioning, in addition to the two hours a day that she spends doing homework. And it is clear that all of her hard work is paying off.

Emme’s regular season team, the ’99 Providence Capitals Elite, qualified for and was invited to compete in the 53rd Annual Quebec International PeeWee Hockey Tournament held in Quebec City from Feb. 11 to 19. This tournament is the largest youth hockey tournament held in Canada and is compared to the US Little League World Series. 

The tournament, held at the Pepsi Coliseum, showcases teams from over 16 countries and hosts over 200,000 fans. Currently, the “99 Capitals Elite team record is 37-8-3.

In addition to competing in the Quebec International PeeWee Hockey Tournament, Emme will be competing in the World Selects Invitational Tournament held in Prague, Czech Republic, at the end of April. She was invited to try out with over 200 girls from the US and Canada, and she was selected as one of two goaltenders for the East Coast Selects Girls Team. The selection committee included independent hockey evaluators including Canadian Olympian goaltender Manon Rheaume, the first woman to ever sign an NHL contract; Jesse and Bill Driscoll, cofounders of the North American Hockey Academy at Jay Peak, Vermont; and Brad Church, general manager and head coach of the Portland Jr, Pirates. Manon Rheaume and Jesse Driscoll will coach the team in Prague.

Emme will travel from Boston through Paris to Munich, Germany on April 25, where she will meet up with her team. The team will then travel to Innsbruck, Austria for two days of sightseeing and then onto Fussen, Germany for a day and a half of sightseeing and practice.  From Fussen, the team moves on to Prague, Czech Republic, where they will spend time sightseeing and practicing before the tournament’s opening ceremony.

Emme’s East Coast Selects team will compete against teams from Austria, Russia, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Italy and the West Coast of North America.

Emme, the daughter of Laura Ostrander and Al Ostrander, hopes to develop international friendships and education through her hockey and cultural exchanges.

Congratulations to Westborough Patch Athlete of the Week, Emme Ostrander! 

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