THERIAULT

Continued from Page 10 commitment to the game of hockey. Another coach with a big impact was Kevin Holmstrom with the Tigers as he guided me through AAA and through the junior process and helped me get to where I’m at today. I owe a lot of credit to him and other members of the Tigers staff.”

The 2022-23 season with the Tigers’ 18U team was a turning point for Theriault.

“This past season prepared me for juniors by continuing to be and act like a professional every day I walked in to the rink, gym, and lockeroom,” said Theriault. “I challenged myself to be an influence and a leader to my teammates. I knew that by doing these things they would help me be successful at the junior level. I had some struggles during the season as I broke my hand early in the year, which threw my game off for the most part, but I learned to battle through adversity and have a smile on my face walking in the rink even on my worst days to be a bright spot for the boys.

“This all helped me get ready for the next levels in hockey by understanding the rehab process and by knowing my role off the ice.”

Going back further, Theriault said hockey has been a major part of his life as long as he can remember.

“I grew up in Breckenridge in

Summit County, which has a fabulous rink and a strong hockey community, and I grew up learning to play there,” explained Theriault. “My dad grew up playing hockey in Massachusetts and after moving to Summit County, he gave back to the community by coaching youth hockey and teaching my brother and I and many of my friends not just the game of hockey, but the importance of being a good person outside of the rink. The Colorado Avalanche is my favorite team, like it is for many kids in Colorado. They had a huge impact on my love for the game, growing up watching games on Altitude and watching guys like Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan O’Reilly, and now Cale Makar really carved my love for the game and my aspiration to play at the highest level I can play at.”

His junior hockey path set, Theriault can now look a bit ahead.

“My short-term goals as of right now in hockey are to continue to keep working and try and play Tier II junior hockey and to continue to work to play NCAA hockey,” Theriault said. “My long-term goal in the game is to play competitively as long as I can, no matter where that may be. As long as I’m playing, then I’ve achieved my goal. My goal in school is to graduate from university, no matter where that may be, and to hopefully take on a career in the journalism field and travel and live my best life.”