The 2024-25 RINK U18 Female Prep squad is back, better than ever, fully restocked for what should be a thrilling year filled with change within the team. Having nine graduating players move on following the 2023-24 season, second-year head coach Ed Mauro has himself a younger — but equally competitive — group to work with this year.

"We only have two graduating players this year, as opposed to what was nearly half our team last season," he told Game On. "So, we've gone towards a little bit of a youth movement. The 2008-09 age group here in Manitoba is pretty strong. We are really optimistic with skill level and the talent of our group here moving forward."

A Great Environment, a Tight Group

According to Mauro, the majority of the team has played together in the past, with the players sharing the attitude of first chasing a RINK Winnipeg Female U18 Prep championship for the first time.

"It's a great environment here with these girls, just a great dressing room — they have a lot of fun with each other," Mauro said. "The hockey world is so small; everyone knows each other. It's always good to walk into the room when they're all laughing and joking around with each other. We're having some good fun with this group of 20 here."

"It is a young, talented group, though, so I am looking forward to watching them grow as a team and understand how to play the game at the next level from a detailed perspective," he continued. "We only have seven returning players. So, for them, we want them to take the next step in it, both on and off the ice, as a captain wearing a letter or not, we want to see that group that was with us last year try to pull the new players along with our routines that we do here, the discipline and the structure."

Last Season's Foundation

Last season, the team finished fifth of 13 clubs with a 17-11-1-1 record over 30 games — good for 51 points and a +20 goal differential on the year.

"This year, the girls' energy level and their interest is so high," Mauro said. "We're really looking forward to teaching them as much as we can here as the season progresses. We obviously want to exceed the previous years' finishes and goals, and if we can, well that would be awesome. But the reality is, you know, we are a young team. With 13 new players, we're looking to build and grow, as the team continues to build and grow."

An Impressive Offseason

Mauro, who has now had a complete year to come to fully understand the program at RINK, is impressed with what he saw from his new group over the offseason.

"The players this summer really took accountability of their own fitness," he noticed. "That was a super promising start. We've tasked them with trying to stay off the ice as much as they can in the summer, as you have to find different sports and taking a break from hockey is really important. And the high majority of them did take some time off the skates, which is always beneficial to their wellbeing. We obviously don't want them to get burned out by the time they're 16. So, they took accountability for their own fitness and maintained lots of off-season workouts with the help of our gym. But truly, they were on their own, in theory, to achieve certain individual fitness goals and levels during the offseason, and I really saw a number of them experience significant growth."

Three Players to Watch

Three players that Mauro expects to have strong seasons are defenders Attica Sobering and Neve Cockerill and returning forward Rowyn Street. All three players are off to strong starts, with Sobering (six points in seven games), Street (11 points in seven games) and Cockerill (three points in seven games) each having found offensive success.

"Those three girls really took the initiative to have a strong offseason and came here to camp ready to roll late this summer," Mauro said. "I'll highlight Neve and Attica, who made Team Manitoba U18 — Attica made it as an under-ager, as a 2009 — but, you know, they could have taken many of our players. I still can't believe Rowyn wasn't chosen. But we are really proud of those players, the work they have put in for our team and Team Manitoba, and are really looking towards this season as one that cements their roles going forward."

Incredible Individuals, Exciting Future

"We just have so many incredible individuals on this team," he added. "There are so many good players here, young players too, but I just want to see how they all develop. Sure, they will each have different timeframes, styles and timing of their development, but it is really going to be exciting here the next few seasons."