Family ties put Averill in position to succeed

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This article was published 14/02/2025 (295 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If anyone was ever meant to play goal, it has to be Danica Averill.

Averill, who turned 16 yesterday, has been outstanding for the under-18 AAA Brandon Wheat Kings in the Manitoba Female Hockey League U18 AAA this season as they prepare to begin the playoffs next week against the Yellowhead Chiefs.

She just happens to be the younger sister of netminder Trent Miner, who made his National Hockey League debut with the Colorado Avalanche this winter, and the daughter of local goaltending coach Dan Averill. In addition, older brothers Zach and Brett also play goal.

“My older brother is drafted to the Colorado Avalanche so he was a big part of my story getting me into hockey,” Averill said. “All my older brothers were goalies so it was a thing from the start that I was born on skates. After I was born I practically lived at the rink so that was a big part of my life, coming to the rink. Now it’s just part of my routine.”

In her rookie season in the league a year ago at age 14 as an underage member of the Westman Wildcats, Averill posted a ridiculous .932 save percentage and 1.82 goals-against average on a powerful Wildcats club that lost in the final to the Winnipeg Ice.

With the introduction of the expansion Wheat Kings this season, the five-foot-10 Averill came home and the success followed.

In 22 appearances this season, Averill has an incredible .949 save percentage — tops among goalies who appeared in at least half of the 32-game season — and a 2.27 goals-against average.

“She had a lot of friends on the Wildcats and she was sad to leave that, but to see her in this new environment making new friends and not missing a beat and improving even more and being dominant all over the league, it’s been crazy for her,” Miner said. “Being an underage last year and being an underage now and just continuing to dominate the league is so impressive. “

Averill posted four regular season shutouts this season: It’s worth noting she made 45, 34, 40 and 48 stops to get them, so none were cake walks.

Wheat Kings head coach Karissa Kirkup said both Averill and backup Shannon Hees have been a big key to her club this season.

“Overall, I’ve been impressed with both of our goaltenders,” Kirkup said. “With both of them being young and in Grade 10, it’s a tricky piece to adjust when all of a sudden you’re playing against some 18-year-olds and they have quick releases and hard shots. They’re playing against the best players in Manitoba. They both have been relied upon and had some outstanding games.”

Hees, a 2009-born U18 rookie, saw action in a dozen games with a 4.08 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.

Their fine play has been important because the expansion Wheat Kings scored just 61 goals in 32 games and were shut out eight times, so they count on their netminders to give them a chance to win.

“As hard as Danica works on the ice in games, she’s working twice, three, four times as hard away from games,” Kirkup said. “She’s doing her goalie sessions and she’s always mentally dialled. She’s a thinker and a very intelligent person with a high hockey IQ and a very focused individual.

“What I like most about her is seeing her progress over the years and gain experience from a variety of places. She’s a really good teammate and seems to get along and make connections with a variety of girls, whether it’s the older Grade 12s, our seniors, or the rookies on the team and everybody on the team. People respect the focused energy she brings all the time.”

Blue-liner Chloe Kachur is certainly appreciative of the big goaltender behind her.

“She is seriously so important for us,” Kachur said. “She does a really good job of communicating with the defence and it just helps us out a lot. It brings our team together when she’s on. She’s always ready to go.”

That includes in the dressing room, where Averill likes to be a leader. Kachur said that caught her a little by surprise.

“I honestly thought she was quiet when I first met her but she is always giving her input and helping us out,” Kachur said. “She sees the whole ice from her perspective and she’s telling us what she thinks we can do and helping us out from that point of view. She’s just a positive leader in the dressing room.”

Oddly enough, at one point there was a chance she wouldn’t end up in net.

After trying life as a skater and a goalie, however, she eventually settled on the latter for some very practical reasons.

“I played both growing up and goalie was kind of just my thing,” Averill said. “I was better at goalie than I was player so that was it, that was my choice. One day it was ‘OK, I want to play goalie and I want to go further.’”

Averill has shown signs of dominance for a while. In 2022, she was named the top goalie in the U15 AAA Manitoba Female Hockey League.

She said a big part of that is her work with Miner.

“It’s super awesome,” Averill said. “Having someone that close, I’m very fortunate. I spend lots of time with him in the summer time, whether it’s on the ice or in the gym, and sometimes in the summer he has shooters come and shoot on me. That was a big step but it’s awesome having him out there. It wasn’t even all the physical stuff that he helped me with, it’s the mental side too.

“If I need something, he’s always a text or call away.”

Miner, who was reached on Thursday evening after the Colorado Eagles arrived at their hotel in Vancouver for weekend matchups in the American Hockey League against the Abbotsford Canucks, said it’s a joy to share a passion for goaltending with his sister.

“It’s always been fun,” Miner said with a chuckle. “Being in my and Dan’s position, it’s being able to see her learn to skate and be on the ice for the first time and just to see how good she is, and not just be at the level she is at, but be able to excel and be dominant at that and everything she does to.”

Of course it doesn’t hurt when her dad knows his way around the crease too. Dan Averill works at the Western Canada Hockey Academy as goalie development coach, and the former owner and head instructor of Westman Elite Goaltending also served as goaltending coach for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Dauphin Kings at one time.

“He’s a big part of my game too,” Danica said of her father. “In the summer time I skate with him lots. He helps me with my game and everything, the mental side, the physical side, everything about it, he’s one of my biggest supporters.”

It’s all paid off on the ice. Averill said her strengths as a goaltender begin with her ability to move.

“I play the puck really well and my skating is really good, which leads into the playing the puck part,” Averill said. “I’m pretty good looking through screens and talking to my D lots.”

Like all good players, she’s actively trying to get better. While she doesn’t consider it a complete weakness, she has one area she’s specifically targeting for improvement.

“It’s east-to-west plays,” Averill said. “It’s being able to move fast laterally.”

Miner said her skating has drastically improved, which is a product of the many hours she puts in at the academy with her father. And that’s a big part of why she is so good. Miner said she’s never been afraid of some old-fashioned hard work.

“There is zero doubt, whether it’s summer or winter,” Miner said. “In the garage, there are lots of hand-eye toys and training things and she’s constantly in there every day working by herself. She’s self-driven and wanting to get better. In all honesty, with how much time and effort she puts in, there’s nothing to hold her back in life.”

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