9 N.L. players lead Canada to gold at World Junior Ball Hockey Championships

Nine young athletes from Newfoundland and Labrador had a ball at the 2023 World Junior Ball Hockey Championships in the Czech Republic, taking home the gold medal along the way. 

Canada's team won 1-0 against Slovakia on Thursday to win the championship. 

Cassie Drover, 18, says she has been playing ice hockey for 15 years and was scouted for Team Canada in 2022 after winning gold at the nationals in Winnipeg. 

But this game, she said, was "unmatchable." 

"I can't even put it into words how it felt to even have the opportunity to go. But to come home with a gold medal is just … it's unbelievable to me," she said.

"I think I'm still in shock, like it doesn't feel real."

Danielle Close, the team's general manager, helped get them there. A childhood athlete herself, Close is all too aware with the challenges of sports, as well as the triumphs that can come with it. 

She described the win as "surreal." 

"I'm 47 years old, so I've come from a place in sport where I've been told no more than I've been told yes with regards to playing," she said. 

"I didn't have the opportunities that these girls did. So for me, for them to win gold was just that. It was just that that final feeling of 'yeah, I've done it, and finally. I finally done it. And I'm here.' And these girls believed in me for four years."

Close said that it's important for female athletes to have these opportunities. Her advice to anyone who wants to be in sports is "don't ever stop." 

But, there is more to learn from the game than simply how to win. 

In the semi-finals, Team Canada beat Great Britain 18-0. Close said the teams took a photo together and supported each other. 

"Every single goal that got scored on those goalies, all eighteen goals. Those goalies, the