Calgary's Auren Halbert going for gold at the World Para Hockey Championship

Auren Halbert is the lone Calgarian playing on the Canadian National Para hockey team.

This year's world championship is being played at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Winsport and Halbert is one of the key members on the team.

Halbert was born with a short left leg that had to be amputated at birth.  When he was eight years old, Auren says he found sledge hockey and fell in love with the sport.

“I think my parents saw it on the news one day so they were like we’ve got to try this out,” said Halbert.

“They told me about it and I had no idea what it looked like and no idea what to expect," he said. " As soon as I was on the ice it was all smiles and (I was) super-excited to get into the sled.”

Dream come true

The 21-year-old has come a long way in the sport.  He says making the national team was a dream come true.

“It means the world,” he said.

“I’ve been training since I was eight years old to make this team.  It was definitely a grind to get here and every day I wake up I’m just super thankful to be where I’m at and to have the opportunity so I could get on the national team.”

One of Halbert’s biggest strengths is his speed on the ice.  It’s one of the reasons why Head Coach Russ Herrington says decided to switch him from forward to defence.  

“Early on it was still a little bit of trepidation of is this really want I want to do and how can I put my fingerprints on the game,” said Herrington.

“Now he’s starting to see that yeah he can be a Cale Makar-type of player for us because he’s on the ice a lot and he’s able to get to pucks that other guys can’t so it’s in his hands a lot as well.”

Tough transition

Halbert admits the transition to defence wasn’t always easy, he had to really work at it.

Even though it was difficult, Halbert says he’s feeling more comfortable every day.

“I had to accept it and just know that my role on the team was now a defenceman and just embrace that totally,” said Halbert.

“It’s been a big learning experience for me but I think playing forward gives me the advantage on defence knowing what forwards are looking for to get into the zone.”

Being the lone Calgarian on the team, Halbert says he’s looking forward to playing in front of friends and family who have never seen him play live before.

“I think just having that home ice advantage is huge for us.  I mean having fans in the stands cheering is a huge help for us.”

The World Para Hockey Championship runs from May 4^th to the 12^th at the Markin MacPhail Centre.