‘Super special’: PA’s Zablocki reflects on Esso Cup victory and reveals plans for next season | saskNOW | Saskatchewan

“It’s super cool…the Rebels have never won it before, so we made history,” Zablocki said. “Being part of the team that made history means a lot to me and I hope the Rebels can do it again.”

“No one can ever take away from us that we are national champions, and it’s a super great feeling.”

The gold medal victory capped a busy season for Zablocki, who also won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the U18 Women’s World Cup in January.

“I got to experience so many cool places and meet so many amazing people, and that was super special for me,” she said.

Zablocki comes from an athletics family, as her older brother, Storm, is an athlete, while her younger sister, Steele, is also a hockey player.

“Our family is very competitive… no matter what we do, everyone wants to win, so that helps a lot, and I think we also support each other a lot in our family and we all support our brothers and sisters and encourage each other all the time and just hoping for the best for each other,” Zablocki said.

Zablocki is back in Prince Albert this summer and has revealed she will not return to the Rebels next season. Instead, she chooses to move south of the border to attend Bishop Kearney High School in New York and play for the Bishop Kearney Selects in her twelfth year. After that, she has already committed to Northeastern University in Boston to play NCAA Division I hockey. She plans to major in business administration.

She added that she has professional aspirations and is excited about the rise of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

“Yes, that is actually a big goal of mine. It’s really exciting to see girls finally have a great place to play and get paid, so super cool to see that come to fruition,” said Zablocki, who added that Emily Clark is her favorite player to to look at.

“Just because she’s from Saskatchewan and she’s super talented and so fun to watch,” she said.

Zablocki himself is poised to join a long list of top hockey players to hail from Prince Albert.

“It’s good to see that a small town like PA can produce some good hockey players and good athletes, and I’m proud and honored to be one of them.”

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