A special experience awaits a trio of hockey players currently in the southwest, who earned a spot on Team Sask's U16 Male roster for the upcoming Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.

Home Hardware Midget AAA Legionnaires defenceman Joe Arntsen, forward Logan Linklater, and Midget AA Broncos goaltender Justin Dueck all find themselves on the 20-man roster set to represent Saskatchewan when the Games hit Alberta from February 15 until March 3.


Arntsen

"It's a great opportunity to go to something like that," said Arntsen, a product of Swift Current. "Lucky that the year I'm born in, we get to go to the winter games. It's great exposure to just show what I can do against the top-end players in the country."

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Arntsen is into his first year at the Midget AAA level with the Legionnaires, and has five goals and 10 points over 24 games.

A 50-point season last year with the Bantam AA Broncos helped him get selected in the second round of the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft (35th overall) by the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

"I've grown a lot, being with Lethbridge at the start of the year, and playing AAA in Swift," said Arntsen, who spoke on his effort to aid in that jump to the next level and beyond.

"You've got to be fast, and I think my foot speed's gone up. You've got to be able to make quick decisions, and you've got to be a lot stronger to keep moving up the levels. I think the growth in my game has been quite a bit since last year."

Now, getting to play alongside a current teammate in Linklater, as well as former Bantam Broncos teammates Justin Dueck and Hayden Wilm (currently with the SMAAAHL's Saskatoon Blazers), Arntsen says it makes the experience that much cooler.

"It'll be really good. Playing with Links, I've played with him all year, I know what he's like. Getting back playing with Wilmer, he's been playing up in Saskatoon, and playing with Duey again. Going in there knowing those guys so I'm not on my own, it's going to be great."

A host of other talent from across the Midget AAA league graces the roster as well.

"You battle with them all year and stuff like that, but I know they're great players and they're going to be gunning with you. It's going to be great playing with all those top-end players from Saskatchewan."

Along with the best players from the province, Arntsen says getting to see how he stacks up against the rest of the country is an opportunity he is excited for.

"Just seeing where I fit in against all these top players. I haven't played against a lot of those guys from Ontario, and over there. Just to see what style of game they play, and how fast they are, and stuff like that is what I'm looking for."


Linklater

"It means a lot," said the visibly ecstatic Legionnaires rookie before a Tuesday afternoon practice at the iPlex. "Every time you get to represent your province, it means a lot. I'm excited, it's a great opportunity for me, and I just can't wait."

The Kindersley-born Linklater played Bantam AA with the West Central Wheat Kings, winning a league title last year. The 5-foot-9, 139-pound forward notched a league-high 49 assists, to go along with 72 points in his final year at the level.

That performance led the Prince Albert Raiders to select Linklater in the sixth round (115th overall) this past spring.

Now, he's off to a steady first season in the SMAAAHL, posting eight goals and 15 points in 24 games with the Legionnaires.

"I feel second-year Bantam, I had a lot of room to kind of expand my game. I felt like that was a good learning year for me kind of taking a lead," said Linklater, noting it was important to know his role at the next level.

"This year, coming in as a rookie, you've just got to do your part. Evs (head coach Darren Evjen), everyone on the team has been a great help. Just trying to get better every day, practicing, working out, just the little things that continue to grow. I think that's the biggest part - the little things."

A former opponent at the Bantam AA level, Linklater now gets to suit up alongside Arntsen on a second team in under a year, come February.

"It's great, any time you can put on the skates with one of your best buddies, it's a feeling you can't explain," said Linklater, who's looking forward to getting to know guys from around the league as well. "When you've got a group of guys that everyone just gets along, and everyone just communicates very well, and everything like that. It's exciting."

The main goal at the CWG for Linklater is a simple one... Win.

"Don't try to be a one-man show, just go out there, do your part, and try to win games. It's not about you, it's about your province. I think saying you can win gold as the best province in Canada is better than just saying that you're the leading scorer or whatever."


Dueck

For the composed netminder from Waldeck, learning he cracked the roster brought a mix of excitement and relief.

"It was pretty unbelievable - I've been waiting for those results for a long time, it was great," said Dueck, who already find himself ready for that moment. "Just get the ball rolling kind of, and get the experience under my belt."

Dueck has been a part of a special season with the current juggernaut that is the Abbey Resources Midget AA Broncos. The team is laying waste to opponents on their schedule, and sit undefeated through 21 contests on the 36-game schedule.

Splitting time between the pipes with Brad Nyen, Dueck has a 10-0-0-0 record, two shutouts, and a stout 1.30 goals-against-average this season.

"We worked on tracking the puck, finishing well, and just making sure you're doing the little details right," said Dueck, on his offseason between the Bantam and Midget levels.

Last season in Bantam, the 6-foot, 187-pound goalie backstopped the Bantam AA Broncos in 15 regular season games, posting a 3.02 goals-against-average. Dueck added a mark of 2.70 goals-against in four playoff contests.

That led the Kelowna Rockets to select him in the tenth round (204th overall) in the 2018 Bantam Draft.

The lone Midget AA-level player on the 20-man roster, Dueck says he's out to prove that he can play among the best.

"For sure, just show that it doesn't really matter what level you play on, as long as you're improving," he explained, adding that playing alongside Arntsen and Wilm again will be a memorable time.

"They're great guys. I love to play with them, we've got a really good bond - played with them for a couple years. We know each other super well. We'll have a lot of experience playing together."