Hockey dream continues for former Yellowknifer after winning silver in Slovakia

For 17-year-old Annie King, just being selected as part of Canada's under-18 women's national junior hockey squad was a dream come true.

King said coming home from Bratislava, Slovakia, last week without a gold medal was a little disappointing. But since then, she's gained some perspective on the silver-medal win.

"As time goes by, you kind of realize that what we did was something really huge and that's something we should be proud of," she said.

"I was actually really happy with how I performed, so that was really exciting for me."

The gold-medal game on Thursday was an absolute nail-biter. Team Canada lost to the American team on a late goal in 3-on-3 overtime hockey after playing to a 1-1 tie in regulation time. King played defence for Canada.

"It was definitely the fastest transition game that I've ever played," King said. "It's really exciting to take part and then see the top girls in the entire world is definitely something that I'll … always remember."

King said support for woman's hockey has grown, but she said there's room for improvement. She said she was disappointed that the only way to watch her games was a livestream hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation.

"When you're overseas, a lot of family can't maybe watch," she said. "It's upsetting to hear that they couldn't view it over livestream, so hopefully that'll change in the future."

King said women's hockey is exciting and viewers just need to sit down and give it a chance.

"There really is a lot of speed and there's a lot of talent."

King grew up in Yellowknife but moved to Saskatchewan four years ago to play for the Notre Dame Hounds.

Next year, she'll be pursuing her career in NCAA division-one hockey for Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. But she hopes to represent Canada again.

"That's definitely a dream of mine to continue playing for the country, so that's the plan."