Erin Kirkland isn’t quite ready to hang up her skates.

The Tisdale, Sask., native and member of the Prince Albert Bears has one last tournament. All those years in minor hockey, growing up playing the game she loved is concluding with the 2022 Esso Cup.

Kirkland is one of five 17-year-olds – alongside Paige Dawson, Taylor Leitch, Carnell Olsen and Sophia Zuck – who will wrap up their minor hockey careers at Canada’s National Women’s U18 Club Championship.

The opportunity to play for a national title has been a long time coming for the quintet; the Bears were originally scheduled to host the 2020 Esso Cup before it was cancelled in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prince Albert was then awarded the 2021 tournament, but the pandemic scuttled those plans as well.

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https://hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/prince-albert-bears-get-their-shot-2022-esso-cup-april-19