NCAA hockey player Morgan Sakundiak is home for Christmas – and the holiday time she spends with family is more than precious, as she and many other elite athletes must live away from home in order to pursue their dreams.
“That’s the hardest part. For them to get to that level, you’ve got to let them grow,” said Sakundiak’s father, Adrian. “As parents, we grow and learn, too … It’s an emotional roller coaster in so many regards.”
Sakundiak is a power forward for the University of Maine Black Bears in the USA Hockey East NCAA Division 1 conference. She plays against heavyweights from Boston College, Northeastern University and Boston University, and her teammates rely on her to kill penalties and perform on power plays.
This is the fourth year Sakundiak has played hockey more than 4,000 kilometres away from her parents in Cochrane – but it’s far from the first time the 21-year-old has lived far from home. That was in Grade 7, when she moved to Kelowna to train in the winter sport.
“It was hard. It was difficult … you’ve got to make sure you’re all in on it. You don’t know how it’s going to work out,” remembered Adrian.
Sakundiak continued to travel to full-time training schools throughout her high school years. In Grade 11, she said she lived with a billet family that was like a second set of parents to her – but they didn’t compare to her real ones back at home.
“They took me in as their own,” Sakundiak remembered. “I still kept in contact with my parents every single day.”
In Grade 12, Adrian moved to Kelowna to help his daughter through the challenging last year of high school. By November, she had signed a letter of intent to play at University of Maine – and by the next fall, it was time to say goodbye again.
“I don’t think any high-level athlete gets to where they are without a lot of sacrifice,” Adrian said. “It doesn’t just happen – it takes a lot of work.”
And work Sakundiak has. In the four seasons since starting with the Black Bears, she has risen to one of the team’s leaders, getting faster on the ice every year and putting more pucks on net.
Adrian and his wife watch all their daughter’s games through a live Internet feed, and the family will de-brief after every match.
“I always FaceTime mom and dad. Dad’ll point stuff out, like I missed a breakaway. I know it, too,” Sakundiak said with a smile. “After 16 years of hockey, Dad and I just joke about it now.”
While the family is usually able to handle the distance, Adrian said he’s never felt further away from his daughter than when she smashed full speed headfirst into the boards. It happened right around this time two years ago – during the first game Sakundiak played after visiting her family in Cochrane for Christmas.
He and his wife watched helplessly online as their youngest child lay face down, motionless, on the ice.
“I can see the play right now,” Adrian recalled with tears in his eyes. “My heart just sunk. We knew nothing. Nothing.
“That was, by far, the toughest time as parents – wondering if we made the right decision. You just pray and hope everyone is safe. Fortunately, it all worked out.”
Sakundiak will play her 100th NCAA game next month and she will graduate from U of M this spring. After riding her hockey career to the top, she plans to finally return home to Cochrane for good to with her parents (for the first time in years), look for work and hopefully find a way keep connected to the hockey community.
“I totally want to give back,” Sakundiak said. “I want to get into coaching, share the lessons I’ve learned – and to help guide young girls.”
