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P.A.’s Stone in town for CWHL Clarkson Cup Tour

Jul 8, 2015 | 7:54 AM

When Danny Stone first started playing in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, she still couldn’t believe she was playing in a professional league that not only featured some of the best women’s hockey players in the world, but Canadian Olympian players as well.

Name a Canadian Olympian and Stone’s probably played with or against her. Stone, the 24-year-old from Prince Albert, was drafted onto the 2013-2014 Calgary Inferno, finding herself on the same roster with Canadian Olympic gold medalists Shannon Szabados and Meaghan Mikkelson, Jocelyne Larocque and Tara Watchorn (Szabados and Mikkelson have two gold medals each).

“It’s crazy. At first, I won’t lie, I was a little star struck,” said Stone. “I went from watching all these players playing on TV and at the Olympics and definitely having a lot of respect for them. [I’m] not only playing against them, but playing on the same teams with them and creating friendships with them along the way, too. It’s been an unbelievable experience that I’m extremely happy that I’ve gotten to take part in.”

This weekend, Stone may make a few local fans get a little ‘star struck’ themselves. She’ll be in her hometown of Prince Albert on the Prairie Toyota Clarkson Cup Tour on Saturday as part of the Canadian Tire Car Show. Also making the tour is Canadian Olympian Natalie Spooner and Stone’s Inferno teammate Tegan Schroeder from Lumsden.

Fans can come and see the Clarkson Cup trophy and skate along with Stone, Spooner and Schroeder on a synthetic ice surface.

“It’ll be nice. I haven’t got to play there since Grade 12 or anything like that,” said Stone. “It will definitely be a good feeling to have my family and friends come out and see what I get to do in Calgary.”

In her two-year career in Calgary, Stone has already make a name for herself at the professional rookie. In her rookie season, Stone set Inferno-franchise records for goals (15), assists (10) and points (25), both all-time and for first-year players.

“That was pretty surreal,” said Stone. “It wasn’t just my play, it was definitely all my teammates. They were the ones who helped me achieve that and without them, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to.

“It was nice to step in that role, but at the same time, there wouldn’t have been that role if it wasn’t for all of my teammates.”

Although Stone dedicates tons of hours in playing, practicing and travelling with the team, she doesn’t exactly get paid. The CWHL doesn’t give a salary to its players and only this year started giving players a $500 bonus for either winning the Clarkson Cup or winning the regular season award.

For income, Stone holds a scaffolding job during the summer and as a substitute educational assistant for the high school and elementary school on the Tsuu T’ina First Nation.

“I love the game, so to be able to play it, it’s so easy to make the sacrifices and just having time for work and hockey.

“It’s definitely a juggling act, but coming from University though and doing school and hockey, it made it easy to convert to the CWHL. You just substitute school for work. It was definitely hard at times but it was definitely worth it.”

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea