This 9-year-old from Makkovik is making waves with his hockey talent

The nine-year-old from Makkovikhas made his way to Florida after participating in his first international tournament.

Kylan Pottle has been playing hockey since he could hold a stick, his mother Colleen Pottle told CBC News last week.

And he doesn’t mince words when talking about her game.

“Our son is pretty talented,” Pottle said.

Kylan traveled to Labrador City from her small north coast community for her first tournament, where Pottle says she excelled. There, he caught the eye of Blizzard Hockey camp owner Jack Lee, who invited him to play for the Newfoundland and Labrador team in a tournament in Florida.

The team lost all of its games, but Lee says the results didn’t matter as much as the fact that kids from many small rural communities across the province visited another country to play the sport they love.

“It was rewarding,” Lee said, to see them “just amazed at where they are. These aren’t just hockey memories, they’re life memories.”

However, it is not easy being a budding hockey star on the remote north coast of Labrador.

Pottle says he would never be able to afford to travel to tournaments without the support of the community. Her friends and neighbors in Makkovik, an aviation community of less than 400 people, often come along to make food for sale and buy it so she can make up for the plane tickets.

And while Makkovik is chasing Kylan, Pottle says he’ll be happy as long as he’s growing up and still loving the game.

“I hope he remembers to never give up. They had some really bad losses, but the team just tried and tried,” he said.

“I hope he keeps that in mind that regardless of the score, you just try to keep doing your best.”

However, Kylan didn’t let the results bother him much.

“We lost all our games, but it was really fun,” Kylan said.

“Anything I try, I’ll get better soon.”

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