Sisters Makena and Danica Johnson are playing together in their second Arctic Winter Games. They say they’ve watched the game grow as they’ve got older, and it’s evident on this year’s team.

“I can’t even put it into words. We started off with little Saturday ice times with five – 10 people. And we had … 30 girls try-out for the Arctic Winter Games, which is crazy,” Makena said. “They’re all so talented and the program has just grown so much from where it started.”

Team Yukon’s U19 girls hockey team is a testament to the growth of the sport among women in the territory.

Girls hockey teams are often made up of diverse skillsets and age groups in the north, said Team Yukon coach Kira Makuk. As the game grows, more young girls are not only playing hockey, they’re showing they can compete at a high level too.

‘It’s just an honour’

Most players on this year’s team are from Whitehorse, but the capital isn’t the only place female hockey is growing. 

Team Yukon’s Ella Dyce is from Haines Junction. She says she was making the two-hour drive to Whitehorse five times a week last year to play hockey. That commitment paid off when she made the Arctic Winter Games roster this year.

“It’s just an honour. I never imagined I’d get this far.”

When Dyce was younger, she says she was the only girl on her hockey team in Haines Junction. But now a number of young girls are playing hockey in her community, including her younger sister, she said.

“It’s awesome to see how people are starting to stick with it. My younger sister’s age group has so many girls on her team,” Dyce said. “It’s not such a male dominated sport anymore.”

Before the games began, Team Yukon’s girls hockey players and coaches held a community event in Haines Junction. For Dyce, it was an opportunity to reconnect with young female hockey players from her community.

“I got to coach my sister and all her friends,” she said. “They’ve all really improved.”

Dyce says she hopes she is a role model for those girls. 

“It’s really important for those girls in Haines to also see what could be possible for them, and Ella is such a great example of that,” said coach Makuk. “I think [she’s] a great role model. Kids can come out, they can watch her and maybe see themselves in a Yukon jersey in a few years.”

The young Yukon team fell short of their goal of winning a medal at this year’s games, losing to Team Nunavut in the bronze medal on Friday. Still, the team has shown the future is bright for women’s hockey in the territory.

“Having 12-year-olds see a lot of ice time at these games…. They’re showing us that they’re able to prove themselves out there, which is really exciting,” Makuk said. “And as a coach, you can’t be happier.”