Each month, we will be highlighting an Angel alum who has gone on to play elite hockey. We are excited to introduce our first featured player, Aika Bercic. Aika played six full seasons with the Angels and now competes with the Greater Vancouver Comets in the BCEHL.

Who are your biggest inspirations for excelling in hockey and making the AAA Comets?

My biggest inspiration is my Dad.  He has always been very supportive, as well as my mom and my brothers.  Hockey is something that I have loved for as long as I can remember and at a very young age I already knew this is what I wanted to do.

Throughout your time in hockey, have you had any challenges or obstacles along the way? How did you overcome this?

Just like anything in life there will be challenges.  I am a very competitive individual and like all hockey players want to be on the ice.  So, any time a player comes to a team and their usual ice time is decreased, for whatever reason, is difficult.  The best way to overcome this is to focus on what you can control and that is your own shifts on the ice. So I always focus on each shift,  I mentally prepare and then go all out and play hard each shift.

In the heat of a high-stakes game, when the pressure is on and your lungs are burning, what is the specific ‘mantra’ or thought process you use to stay focused and confident?

You always have to believe you and your team can win a game no matter what.  As long as there is time on the clock, I have that belief.  So, my thought process is winning, winning the game, winning the race to the puck, winning the battle for the puck, knowing and believing  you will score when the opportunity shows itself.

Being a student and a AAA athlete comes with a lot of responsibilities. How do you balance the pressure of performing on the ice  with the responsibility of being a good person and a good student?

Hockey is very important to me, but so too is my education and my faith.  Balancing hockey and schooling involves each day being scheduled out on a calendar.  I stick to the daily schedule no matter what.  The days get very busy with schooling, homework, work outs, sprints, practices, games, family time but they are fun.  No matter where I am during the day or how I feel, I always try to treat others like how I would like to be treated.

If you could go back and talk to your younger self while playing Angels hockey, what is the one thing you’d tell her about the journey ahead that she wouldn’t expect?

I guess I would tell her that it isn’t always going to be smooth sailing and that there will be road bumps along the way, however, the important thing is to be prepared for them and to approach any obstacles in a positive manner and keep believing in yourself and striving for whatever goal you may have in hockey.