Shelby Laidlaw plays hockey for Team Canada in Sweden – The Aylmer Express
by Rob Perry of The Aylmer Express
Shelby Laidlaw, 17, from Luton in Malahide is competing as part of Team Canada’s U-18 team at the International Ice Hockey Federation Championships in Sweden.
She was born and raised in the Aylmer area, the daughter of Jody and Travis Laidlaw. Her sister Reece, 15, also plays hockey, as a forward for the BAD (Belmont-Aylmer-Dorchester) Girls.
Shelby is also a forward and has been since she started playing hockey in Aylmer Minor Hockey’s “Timbits” program when she was four.
“I like to score goals,” she explained of her preference for offense.
Her parents also played hockey, her father all her life and her mother starting as an adult, and that inspired Shelby to play as well.
After three years in the AMHA program, she switched to BAD Girls and played there until she became a Senior Atom. Then, in Year 7, she switched to the London Devilettes, where she has since played in a variety of age division teams. Her squad now includes a core group of veterans who have played together for a long time. “We’re doing pretty well” and hoped to “win it all” this season. Four of her Devilette teammates were also selected for the team that will go to Sweden.
A left-handed player, Shelby notes “I like to deke usually” as she approached the target. “Usually toe drag is my goal,” I pull the puck out wide, fake a shot, then pull the puck in close to her body to get it around the opposing goalie.
This will not be her first taste of international competition. She was part of a 2019 Team Canada Junior Women’s Team and played roller hockey at a tournament in Barcelona, Spain. Her team finished with a bronze medal, and she enjoyed the experience, “playing for my country and playing against some good players.”
With roller hockey, there was no need for an ice rink and given Spain’s southern location, “it got very hot in there.” She also got a chance to travel around Barcelona and the area. “It was really beautiful, actually.”
Shelby had wanted to do more international competition, possibly in traditional ice hockey, but then “COVID shut that down.”
The first year of the pandemic, everything was suspended toward the end of the season, and the next year, players could only participate in scrimmages and practices. “It was tough. That’s when kind of your prime scouting is. COVID just ruined it.”
Hockey finally returned to something approaching normal in the 2021-22 season, she said. While her Devilettes team did well in the regular season, they lost in the playoffs.
She had kept up her skills in the meantime because her family usually put a rink in their front yard, and she also sometimes rented ice from arenas or received private training from coaches.
This season, her team was back to normal, and the Devilettes did really well.
She had been invited to a Team Ontario U-18 women’s camp, with 80 players, last summer, but was not selected for a team that time. But she went to another one later, with 40 players, and was invited back, although she has yet to hear if she made a provincial squad.
In the meantime, however, she received an invitation to be part of the U-18 national team that goes to Östersund, Sweden. She benefited from two of her teammates previously competing for Team Canada.
She was invited to a camp in August, attended by 40 players, and was cut, but she made another team for another international series, though only a three-game series against Team USA. Then, at the beginning of September, she received a call asking if she wanted to be part of the squad going to the championships in Sweden.
“I was thrilled to be selected,” she said, especially after being cut before.
She left for the tournament on December 31 and after time to practice with her team, matches were scheduled to begin on January 8.
Her goal for the championships? “Hopefully win a gold medal.”
She would like to score at least one goal and get a few assists in the opening three games. However, Canada is in a tough pool with the USA, Finland and Sweden.
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Post-tournament update: Team Canada’s U18 women’s team, competing at the world championships in Sweden, won the gold medal final of the International Ice Hockey Federation tournament, beating Sweden 10-0 on Sunday, January 15.
Shelby Laidlaw from Luton is in that team.
Team Canada had already defeated Sweden earlier in the tournament,
Team Canada started the tournament strong with an 8-0 shutout of Finland on Sunday, January 8, followed by a 4-2 win over Sweden on Monday, January 9 and a 3-1 win over the USA on Wednesday, January. 11.
Shelby’s team received a bye and then beat Finland 3-2 in overtime on Saturday, Jan. 14, to advance to the finals.