14-year-old Hailey King is turning heads on Canada's women's Para hockey team

Hailey King will play with the best female Para ice hockey players in the world this week in Green Bay, Wis., making her international debut in a sport she picked up less than four years ago.

Next week, she'll hit another big milestone: her first day of high school.

At only 14 years old, Airdrie, Alta.'s King is the youngest player on the national women's Para hockey team.

But don't expect her to be timid on the ice.

"I'm not really afraid of contact," King said. "I quite love that a lot."

King is one of six players under 20 on the Canadian women's Para hockey team that will play in the Women's World Challenge, an international best-on-best tournament that begins Thursday and runs through Sept. 3. The United States beat Canada for gold at the first-ever world challenge last year.

This year, Canada will face the United States, Great Britain and Team World, which includes players from 12 different countries. Armenia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Latvia and Vietnam will all have athletes competing for the first time, with the hope the sport will have enough countries to field teams in a world championship by 2025.

WATCH: What's next for women's Para hockey?:

It's a key step in the journey toward the ultimate goal for many women who play the game: a women's Para hockey program in the Paralympic Games. Para hockey is a mixed sport at the Paralympics, but a Canadian woman has never made the team.

Canadian coach Tara Chisholm doesn't have to look far to see evidence of how much the sport is growing and developing. She describes King and the other young players on the team as coming in with a "gamer" mindset. They've shown up with confidence and skill, and they want to contribute right away.

"It's just showing me that