Victus in the News: “Australian athletes training at hockey high school in Kitchener, Ont.”
Canada is on top when it comes to hockey, and players from Down Under are taking note. Two Australian teens have moved across the world to train at a Kitchener, Ont. hockey high school.
It’s not a sport often associated with Australia, so getting daily ice time at Victus Academy is a dream come true. You’d think by how effortlessly he glides, Hunter Boland was born on the ice.
“I’m from Australia. It’s a city called Gold Coast in Queensland,” he said.
The 17-year-old athlete learned to skate from a young age and said the sport is growing there.
“There’s a lot of rinks, maybe 12 or 13, all across Australia. We have a semi-professional league,” Boland said.
It’s still nowhere near the level Canada is at, which is why Boland is training at Victus with the goal of growing his game.
“I had a friend that used to live in Australia who then moved here and he told me about the school, and the school reached out to me,” he said.
He attended the school last year for a month and is now in his first full year.
“I came back to Australia – I just noticed a really big growth. I was light years ahead of everyone [back home],” Boland said.
He wants to keep taking his game to new heights and contribute to Australia’s representation in the NHL.
“There’s one player, his name is Nathan Walker. He plays for the Blues. He’s probably the biggest Australian in the NHL,” said Boland. At least, for now, not ruling out his own upward trajectory.
There was another Aussie on the ice inside Victus Academy when CTV News stopped by on Tuesday. Georgia Watts, 16, was training with the female athletes. She fell in love with the sport after learning to skate at just three years old.It’s a very different experience where she’s from in Brisbane.
“They’d be assuming you played field hockey,” she said, referring to how people usually responded when they found out which sport she played.
It’s also her first year at Victus. She made the move overseas to improve her skills. The principal of the school is housing her and has become a big part of her ‘Canadian’ family.
“I feel like I look like almost a completely new player out on the ice. It’s been amazing to have this opportunity,” said Watts.
The recently formed Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has given Watts renewed excitement for a future in hockey.
“It’s really inspiring to see the women’s game grow, which makes me want to push myself so much more to be there, to get to that level,” said Watts.
While both players are well on their way, there are some things that are still a work in progress – like getting used to Canadian weather.
“It’s so cold,” said Watts.
And of course, Canadian trash talk.
“I think we use a couple different words back in Australia,” said Boland, chuckling. “I don’t know if I can say it, so I won’t say it.”