When Chantelle Rivest was selected for the Yukon's female Canada Winter Games hockey team, she saw it as a great opportunity to play with her friends in front of her hometown crowd.

She was excited about skating against some of the best women hockey players in the country.

But Rivest never thought making the Games' team would bring her the type of opportunity which came knocking at her door earlier this month, when she received an email from Hockey Canada's national women's team head coach and general manager Melody Davidson.

Rivest was one of 68 players from across the country invited to attend a Hockey Canada strength and conditioning camp for those age 18-and-under. The Yukoner was one of just four selected who are 14 years of age.

'I've definitely already made it farther than I ever thought I could,' said Rivest, who travelled to Calgary this past weekend for the camp. 'I never really realized how big Canada Games are until I got this opportunity.

'After this camp, I realized how much of an impact it can have on your life. If I'm good enough, I could end up on the national U-18 team. From there, the options are endless.'

While Hockey Canada has been running similar strength and conditioning camps for its under-22 national team for the past three years, this is the first year an under-19 camp has been held separately. It's all part of the national sports organization's aim to strengthen the sport at all levels, starting with an under-18 national team for the first time this year.

The players at the U-19 camp were selected by Hockey Canada scouts, as well as Davidson.

'Every girl at the game, we saw a minimum of two times before the Canada Games, with exception of the North,' explained Wally Kozak, the national women's program head scout. 'At the Canada Games, we had four scouts, including myself, evaluating performances separately, and we selected about 80 that we then did rankings on.'

Each of the 80 players received scores and the scouts debated their characteristics. All of the information was put into a computer database which then produced the overall rankings. Based on those rankings, Kozak and his staff made their decisions.

'The coaches of every team (at the CWG) pre-ranked every player, then did post-rankings,' he added. 'Melody submitted a list of her rankings as well. Then we phoned all the coaching staffs if there were any discrepancies and discussed it.

'It's a thorough process.'

Hockey Canada wanted a representative from every region of the country at the camp and they achieved that, with exception of Nunavut. Rivest represented the Yukon while Michelle Daigneault of Hay River was chosen from the Northwest Territories.

However, that doesn't mean the two didn't belong there a point both Kozak and N.W.T. coach Ally Simpson drove home.

'We're glad we did that (selected someone from every region), because (Rivest) was better than players we had ranked higher than her from other regions,' stated Kozak. 'She made a very good impression on us.

'She was very mature for her age and worked very hard. There were other younger players who did not cope as well with everything as she did.'

Kozak said Daigneault, who he had previously coached on the aboriginal U-18 team, is one of the best aboriginal players in the country right now. She finished second in a 'very gruelling' test of maximal aerobic performance at last week's camp.

Rivest pointed to a speech some of the players at camp received from Simpson, who was selected as one of the motivational guests. Simpson has been involved in female hockey for years and recalled her own previous experience at national camps.

'She said, I thought they chose me because they had to, but that's not true. They chose you because you're good,'' recalled Rivest. 'It was nice to hear that, because that's exactly what I had started off thinking. Hearing it from somebody other than your parents makes you believe it.'

Still, Rivest knew the chance to impress national team staff doesn't come around all the time, so she made the best of it. At such a young age, she noticed a difference in strength compared to the older players, but she tried to make up for that with work ethic.

'I know I gave it everything I had. It's Team Canada. You don't slack off.'

Most of the three-day camp consisted of fitness testing and skating drills, but there were also nutrition sessions. Rivest said it was 'extremely hard', pointing out they didn't go on the ice at all the first day.

'We ran beat tests and the Riot, which is probably the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. You run every 30 seconds for three minutes, 30 metres down and 30 metres back. I thought I was going to die.'

The participants came up with ideas for snacks and meals based on the nutrition recommendations they were given after they did a test to calculate their body fat percentage.

There were no pucks used for the on-ice sessions. It was all about developing the fundamentals and fitness levels.

'Wally was on the ice with us and he's a very, very good coach,' said Rivest. 'He really makes things simplified. It's the first time I actually had a skating drill that has made a difference.'

Kozak said he and the rest of the camp staff were impressed with the overall level of talent and maturity among the players. Almost all of them still need work on their fitness levels, he added, but that was to be expected.

The whole idea of the camp was to teach them proper training and diet, to give them guidance, he said.

'It was a great opportunity to see kids from across Canada and expose them to what being an elite athlete is all about ... the amount of work and commitment that will be required for them to continue at a high level.'

The majority of the 66 players at the Calgary camp (two that were invited did not attend) will return for a second camp in July. From the July camp, the national U-18 team which will take on the U.S. at the end of August will be selected.

For a few of the top players, such as Ontario's Rebecca Johnston and Jessica Wakefield, a spot on the U-22 team could also be available. Kozak said Johnston and Wakefield, both 17, will likely get an invitation to the next U-22 camp.

Kozak said while he doesn't anticipate actually cutting anybody before the U-19 July camp, a few of the players will not be invited to return because of chronic injuries they need to deal with or because their fitness level just isn't good enough.

'There's a few that have to demonstrate improved fitness levels before they come,' he explained. 'They'll be monitored.'

Players who attended the camp were given a notebook to keep until July with instructions on fitness activities. They also have two notebooks one for each month in which they are required to record everything they eat, the time they eat at and quantities, as well as their workout for that day.

Rivest will find out at the end of June whether she's been invited back in July. If she does make it, she'll get an email, and if not, a phone call telling her why.

'Right now, I'm just kind of hoping for the best,' she said, adding no matter what, the camp has left her with some invaluable experience.

'A lot of it is based on you. If you want it bad enough, you have a chance of getting it. I've already started to push myself harder.

'Just seeing the level of play there and how many people are behind the scenes, how many opportunities there are, with trainers, nutritionists and medical staff. If I don't make it actually on the ice, then I can still be involved someway and hopefully do something else.'

That's a sentiment Kozak and his staff love to hear. While nobody denies the importance of skill, it's also about who's willing to work the hardest and who shows the most character, said Kozak.

It's about the game of hockey.

'Who is willing to put in all the hard work knowing that they still might not make it. You have to love the sport to do that.'