It's definitely a bright future on the ice for Saskatoon’s Alida Korte.
A familiar name in the area, Korte was in Humboldt last week as a guest coach for the Girls camp at the Humboldt Broncos Summer Hockey School.
At 17, Korte has already established an impressive hockey profile, but there’s no doubt she’s plans on continuing to add to it.
Encouraged by both her brother and father, Alida began playing hockey at the age of five. Korte played on boys’ teams until age 15, then switched to girls’ hockey in Saskatoon.
Two years ago, Korte made the move west, as she joined the U18 RINK Hockey Academy in Kelowna. She said that a strong recruiting pitch from the team’s head coach led her and family to be comfortable with the idea of playing hockey in the Okanagan Valley.
“We had a few calls with him, and he gave us a very good presentation on why Kelowna was a good place to go for my development and to get to be the player that I wanted to be. So, my parents and I really liked what he had to say, where he thought it could take me.”
In her first season in Kelowna, Korte had 52 points (19G-33A) in 28 games and improved those totals in her second season with 63 points (24G-39A) in 29 games.
Last year, Korte had the chance to represent Saskatchewan at the U18 National Championships in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, just falling short of a medal as Saskatchewan finished in fourth place with a loss to BC in the Bronze medal game.
But it wouldn’t be long before Korte would secure some hardware, this time as a member of Team Canada at the U18 World Women’s Championship in Finland.
Canada captured the gold medal, defeating the United States in the championship game.
She said the experience in Finland was a memorable one.
“It was unbelievable. It was a memory that I'll have forever getting to go to Finland, getting to know all the girls, getting to play against the best players in the world. It was unforgettable. And to win the gold medal was it is like I have no words. It was the best. It was probably the best moment of my life.”
Korte had another opportunity to represent Canada this summer as she was one of the 25 players selected to the 2025 U18 series against the United States in Lake Placid, New York.
The two teams met in a three-game series and even though the Americans came on top this time, the Saskatoon product enjoyed the opportunity.
“It was really cool, tough that we lost the series, but just to get back with the team and get to know the new girls on the team.”
Even though the international series was an exhibition affair between the two countries, the intensity of the rivalry between the two countries in women's hockey was present.
“Just even in warm up, looking across, seeing those jerseys, it really fires you up. It gets you ready to play.”
Many Canadians dream about playing with the hockey jersey with the maple leaf on it and Korte is grateful to be among the selected few to own that distinction.
“It’s an honour,” she said, “It's a dream that I've always had just to wear that jersey, watching everyone watching my idols wear that jersey, get to represent my country, it’s really cool.”
The next step in Korte’s career has been solidified, as next year she will be heading to Ohio State University where she will play for the Buckeye’s Women’s Hockey team in the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA.
She noted the city of Columbus and the campus at Ohio State are beautiful, but it was her interaction with Head Coach Nadine Muzerall that helped her decide that being a Buckeye was the best path for her career.
“She's the best coach there is. She'll get me to be where I want to be, she pushes everyone.”
Even though Korte still has a little bit of time before she embarks on her collegiate career, her professional goals are within her vision.
“I would love to play in the PWHL, playing professional hockey is the only thing I want to do.”
With a gold medal already to her name, an NCAA career on the horizon, and dreams of both the PWHL and the Olympic stage, Alida Korte’s hockey story is only beginning.