Alderville First Nation member aspires to play hockey at the National Collegiate Athletic Association level

By Sam Laskaris

COBOURG – Kyla Fleming, a 16-year-old member of Alderville First Nation, suited up for the Toronto Aeros’ Under-22 AA Elite squad this season.

The Aeros compete in the Ontario Women’s Hockey League (OWHL). The team had won nine of its first 43 regular reason matches in the OWHL’s Red Division.

And the Aeros were occupying 19th place in their 20-team division, which includes squads from all across the province.

Fleming, a Grade 11 student at Cobourg Collegiate Institute, could have suited up for an OWHL club in the Under-18 grouping.

“I thought it would be better for my game,” Fleming said of her decision to play in the higher age grouping.

Plus, her end goal is to secure an athletic scholarship to play hockey for an American-based university at the NCAA level. Thus, she knew the Under-22 division would be more heavily scouted than the Under-18 loop.

Though the Aeros have struggled, Fleming has been making a name for herself. When regular season and tournament matches are factored in, Fleming, a left winger, is the Aeros’ top scorer this season.

“I knew we would struggle because we are so young,” she said. “We’re all really young. Half my team is my age. Next year, we will be better.”

Fleming has already committed to return to the Aeros for the 2024-25 campaign. That means she will continue to make some lengthy commutes to play hockey. The Aeros’ home facility is The Sports Village in Vaughan, about a 90-minute drive from her Cobourg home.

Fleming’s parents take turns driving her to her games and practices, but sometimes she does carpool with a Bowmanville teammate.

Besides the Aeros, Fleming also suited up for another team this season, the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek squad that captured the girls’ under-18 recreational division at this year’s Little Native Hockey League tournament. This event, often simply called the Little NHL, has become the largest Indigenous youth hockey tournament in Ontario. This tourney, which concluded Mar. 14, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and marked the first time that Fleming had competed in it.

Fleming will also participate at next month’s National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC), which will be held in May 5-11 in Grande Prairie, Alta.

This will mark the first time that Fleming will compete in the annual NAHC.

She’ll represent the Ontario squad, one of seven entrants in the girls’ division; the boys’ category will also feature seven clubs.

“I’m really looking forward to that,” Fleming said.

Fleming added that she is also pleased to see the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is in the midst of its first season of operations.

While other pro women’s circuits existed in North America before, the six-team league PWHL is considered to be different as it is allowing participants to make a living playing hockey and not having to rely on other jobs to make ends meet.

The PWHL currently has franchises in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York, and Minnesota.

“I think it’s awesome,” Fleming said. “I think it’s incredible they are inspiring young girls.”