By Carlie Sanderson
For Ponoka News
Hockey player Noah Hackett of Ponoka will be heading to Niagara University this Fall to continue playing hockey.
Hackett, who grew up in Ponoka, started skating at the young age of three and played on his first team in Ponoka for the Mighty Mites, playing in Ponoka all the way up until he was in Grade 8. He then went onto play in other parts of Alberta including Lacombe, Wetaskawin, Camrose and Leduc.
He got into the sport of hockey through his father.
“It was mostly through watching games with my dad as a kid. I started to just find a love for the game,” he said in a recent interview.
Hackett was offered an NCAA Div. 1 scholarship to Niagara University for September of 2022 and will continue his hockey career playing for the university’s Purple Eagles hockey team. While there, he will be studying sports management, a four-year program.
Hackett has had quite the impressive career so far. He was co-captain of the Olds Grizzlys and in the top 10 in scoring. It was in December that he was traded to the Brooks Bandits, where the team won the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) title.
They then went on to win Nationals in Estevan, Saskatchewan, which Hackett contributed with five points for three goals and two assists in the tournament.
When asked to reflect on the season, the right winger said it couldn’t have turned out any better.
“Especially having it be my last year of junior hockey, there’s no way other way I’d rather finish my junior career than winning a national championship, so it was perfect,” he said.
Hackett has been readying himself for the next season and said he is doing everything in his power to make sure he’s prepared to play at the next level.
His training involves skating three to four times a week and when he’s not on the ice, he’s working on agility and speed.
In his spare time, Hackett enjoys golfing and hanging out with friends. He is currently working for a landscaping company before he heads off to school.
When it comes to someone who has been there through it all, his dad has been there since day one.
“He hasn’t missed a game, so the support from him is huge.”
Although his dad has never played the sport, he loves watching from the sidelines and their bond over the love of hockey has stayed with his son.
Hackett also wanted to acknowledge Ponoka Minor Hockey, which is where it all started for him.