Standing on the blueline with a smile on your face watching the Canadian flag hoisted to the rafters.
Singing the national anthem with your fellow Canadians after a big victory.
Having a chance to take on the world to see where you stack up.
Mark Hillier didn’t see it coming, not soon anyway, but he will get a chance to wear the Team Canada crest next summer.
Hillier, an elite athlete who will play ice hockey for St. Andrew’s College in the fall, has been selected to play for Junior Team Canada (East) for the 2018 International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) U16 World Junior Cup June 28 to July 1 in Czech Republic.
Hillier received a invitation letter from the team last week asking him to play based on his performance with Team NL at the Canadian junior ball hockey championships in Kitchener earlier this year. The tournament in Kitchener was Hillier’s first appearance in a national ball hockey tournament, but he has represented his province at major ice hockey tournaments on the mainland over the past couple of years as a member of the Western Kings AAA bantam hockey team in the provincial league.
Hillier couldn’t be reached for comment Monday. He showed up for Day 1 of training camp at St. Andrew’s College on Monday and will be heading to Germany Friday for his first game with the Saints.
