Meet Kanyan Unger
Prairie Hockey Academy CSSHL U15Prep
Forward – 2007 DOB
5’6” 130lbs
Tell us about your hometown, family and hobbies.
I am from a city called Warman. There are two hockey rinks and I am always there. If I’m not at the rink I am hanging out with friends at the odr or doing other sports. My hobbies are basically doing anything that requires a challenge. One of my favorite hobbies is working out and I also love hanging out with friends but other than that I’m on the ice.
How did you originally begin playing hockey (what age as well) and what is your favourite memory from when you were younger?
I started skating at the young age of two, my mom would always take me to the diamond which is one of the local rinks to go for free skate. My mom and dad put me in hockey at three, but I was too overwhelmed and had too much anxiety at the time. The next year I was put back into hockey and I fell in love with it, I felt as if it was my chance to get away from life and have fun and I’ve been playing ever since. My favourite memory was when I was skating with my mom, and it was my first time and I fell, and I cried and then my mom encouraged me to get back up and then I kept skating and didn’t want to stop.
Who is your favourite NHL player and who do you model your game after? Why?
My favourite NHL player is Patrick Kane because I love his game and the way he shoots the puck and stick handles is cool and very inspiring. I don’t really model my game after anyone I feel like I just play my own game which is very physical and going for all the pucks and grinding down low and being a power forward.
What team do/did you play for? What was your favorite part from the season?
I play for U15 prep Prairie hockey Academy, my favourite part so far is having fun on the ice with the boys while also getting better as a team and developing all at the same time.
What are your top goals as a student athlete? Why are they your top goals?
My top goals as a student athlete would be to always do my best and develop as a hockey player as well as a student in school, I want to have a successful season and know that I did my best and got better in every way, as a student I want to be my very best and get really good grades to impress my parents. They are my top goals because I know I have to do my best no matter what because if I don’t then I’ve set myself up for failure instead of success. They are also my top goals because I am doing it for myself, and I have goals for later in life that I want to accomplish. Before this year I didn’t realize how important school was, I thought before that school was a waste of time and if I just do good in hockey I wouldn’t need it but I realize that I do need it and hockey will end someday I just need to do my best until I hang up the skates and know that I did my best, after hockey I want to be a chiropractor, athletic therapist, lawyer, or physiotherapist, and to accomplish that I need to do school and get the best grades I can so that if I do end up going to college they will see that I have good grades and accept my application.
What would it mean to you to play at the NCAA or Pro level?
It would mean the world if I could play NCAA or pro level, it has always been my dream to go far in hockey and it still continues to be my dream, I still love hockey as much as I did 10 years ago, my main goal is to make my dreams come true.
What separates you as a player or person? How do you continue to get better?
What separates me from other hockey players is my physicality and determination to have success, I have just started to gain my confidence this year and has made a big difference in my game, I have never been more driven in my life to do my best and I feel that’s also what separates me is because I’m always working hard an always want the puck and create opportunities for teammates. I think also what separates me from other players is that I’m not scared to get hit or give a hit I think that hitting is also what really helped my game. I have to keep working hard in practices and give my all if I want to continue to get better. I must create opportunities by myself by working hard.
What impact are you looking to have in your sports careers (community, team, success, etc.)
The impact I want to leave is having my name in the hockey world as being a hardworking hockey player and a very driven person, I want to be talked about as being an inspirational player and to do that I have to keep working hard. I also want to help my team succeed by creating opportunities. That’s the main goal.