A Saanichton native will make history next week when she becomes the first B.C.-born player to play for Canada鈥檚 women鈥檚 hockey team at a Winter Olympics.

Micah Zandee-Hart has taken her talents from the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association all the way to the grandest stage in women鈥檚 hockey as she鈥檚 about to make her Olympic debut at the Beijing Winter Games on Feb. 3.

Zandee-Hart was one of the final cuts for the 2018 Olympic team. The Canadian women went on to lose in a shootout to the U.S. during the gold medal game in Pyeongchang, South Korea that year.

The 25-year-old blueliner was the first player from Vancouver Island to crack the women鈥檚 national team. She had two assists at her first IIHF Women鈥檚 World Championship in 2019, where Canada took the bronze medal. After the 2020 World Championship was cancelled due to the pandemic, Zandee-Hart missed her shot at the 2021 Worlds as a shoulder injury, which required surgery, kept her out of the lineup.

In 28 international contests, Zandee-Hart has four points and 12 penalty minutes with the Canadian team. During her four years with Cornell University, she posted 87 points in 125 games and is the school鈥檚 all-time leader in blocked shots with 225. Zandee-Hart was a co-captain of the Big Red in her last three seasons and was just the second sophomore to ever wear the C.

The Islander also donned the Maple Leaf with the national U18 team, winning gold at the 2014 World Championship and silver at the 2015 tournament, where she captained the Canadians.

Zandee-Hart was also the flag bearer for Team B.C. at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

The Canadian women鈥檚 team open the Winter Games against Switzerland on Feb. 3. They鈥檒l also face Finland, the Russian Olympic Committee and the United States in the preliminary round at the Games.

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