It’s sister like brother when it comes to the Team USA Hockey program for one Point Roberts family.
Ava Svejkovsky heads to Minnesota next week as one of 32 players to earn invites to the U18 National Festival, slated to run Aug. 5 to 14.
The recently turned 17-year-old blueliner secured her spot with a strong showing at last month’s USA Hockey BioSteel U18 Select Player Development Camp, also staged in Minnesota.
The Festival will be another tryout process to determine Team USA’s roster for the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship in Sweden next January.
She is the lone player from the Pacific region to advance to the Festival.
Svejkovsky’s older brother Lukas, 19, made it to the final stage of the Team USA camp last fall for the U20 World Hockey Championships.
The Medicine Hat Tigers forward was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ava’s promising career has seen her spend the past four seasons at the Delta Hockey Academy, including the last three with the Wild U18 Prep team. She had 13 points in 23 games, including six goals, during the 2019/20 campaign.
The siblings have benefited from their father Yogi Svejkovsky, the former NHLer and longtime hockey skills instructor/coach in the Metro Vancouver area. His current duties includes director of coaching development with DHA.
