Their uniforms will say Team BC when they hit the ice in Saskatchewan this weekend, but there's no doubt the eight Yukon athletes who are competing in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC) will be proudly representing this territory.

The 2007 NAHC are being held in Prince Albert, Sask., April 29-May 5. The championships are an opportunity for young bantam and midget aboriginal hockey players to showcase their talents and participate against other provincial and territorial hockey teams.

The Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC) was established to promote personal excellence through sport and to support the holistic development of aboriginal athletes and coaches. And as a program of the ASC, the NAHC reflect those priorities while serving as the premier competition for minor level aboriginal hockey in Canada.

The NAHC are designed as an all-star tournament, and each provincial/territorial aboriginal sport body is responsible for developing and conducting a region-wide team selection process.

After attending an invitation-only selection camp in Salmon Arm, B.C. earlier this year, Alex McDougall, Colin Dendys and Daniel Clethroe were named to the province's male squad while Jessica Trotter, Jocelyn Boutilier, Mallory Lesage, Selena Kaytor and goalie Teneesha Merkel will suit up for the female team.

Glen Skookum and William Sheppard also tried out for the team but didn't make it.

All eight of the players who did make it also represented the Yukon on home ice at the 2007 Canada Winter Games this past February, but only two of the eight have attended the NAHC before, and only one Teslin's Jocelyn Boutilier as a member of Team BC.

Lesage, who just moved to the territory within the last year, skated for Team Ontario North in 2006.

'The first time I went, I was a little bit nervous, but I just got out there and did my best,' said Lesage, in an interview following the group's final practice Thursday night. 'This time, I want to be going up with the puck more.

'It's pretty competitive, sometimes even tougher than you first think.'

Boutilier, who is in her fourth year as a member of Team BC feels like she's much better prepared this time around.

'Now I have a lot more skills, so I can keep up with the competition level,' she said, adding the tournament helps her work on her weaknesses.

The veteran forward said there are a lot of young girls on the team this year, pointing out the turnout at the selection camp wasn't as high as it had been in recent years. She felt like the process was easier. Still, she knows once they actually get to the national championships, the level of play will be turned up a few notches.

Asked if they had any advice for the remaining six Yukoners heading to Prince Albert, Boutilier and Lesage kept it simple.

'Just play your own game,' said Lesage. 'Try not to change yourself. They selected you because they already liked the way you play.'

'Play like you know how to,' added Boutilier.

It's advice that Kaytor, who hails from Faro, will likely take to heart. Being a good team player is something Kaytor feels helped her get selected in Salmon Arm. She decided to try out because she knew her friends would be there.

'I thought it was awesome. I loved the coach and all the girls were great.'

McDougall said he expected the selection camp to be of much higher calibre, but he's prepared for a tough battle once the competition gets underway.

The defenceman has been wanting to try out for the NAHC for the past couple of years, but the timing never worked out. This is his last year of eligibility, as a 17-year-old, so he's hoping he can take the opportunity and run with it.

McDougall said he believes the fitness level of the Yukoners was the difference in making the cut. Conditioning is something they've been working on all year, as members of both the Canada Games team and the Whitehorse Mustangs midget rep team, and it continues to pay off, he said.

'I guess I shone at the camp and the coaches noticed me. That's what I wanted to do. Now hopefully I can do something great. Hopefully I can get some scouting letters and also help the team finish as high as possible.'

Lesage and Boutilier are also looking to garner attention from scouts. Lesage made the all-star selections from last year's NAHC, which provided her with the opportunity to attend the National Aboriginal High Performance Hockey Camp in Ottawa later that summer.

The camp provides an elite national forum for the top bantam and midget aged aboriginal hockey players in Canada, under the leadership of some of the most respected hockey coaches in the country inclusive of Major Junior, Junior A, university and Olympic team coaches.

Under their direction, athletes selected to attend the camp are immersed in an intensive one-week high performance training program. The on-ice training and off-ice technical sessions are complemented by daily sport science workshops as well as cultural teachings from local elders who participated in the delivery of the curriculum.

Access to the camp is restricted to players identified through an evaluation process conducted at the NAHC. The top 23 male and 23 female players at the championships are invited to attend.

Last year's camp was a lot of hard work, said Lesage, but worth it.

'It made a big difference in my game.'

Boutilier hopes to make the camp this time around, as well as get recognition from elsewhere.

'I want to show them what the North has to offer.'

With eight players chosen for Team BC this year, it would seem the North is on the rise in terms of its aboriginal hockey participants. In fact, there's been talk of the Yukon sending its own male hockey team to the championships next year, rather than joining Team BC.

There isn't enough female aboriginal hockey players as of right now in the territory to field an entire team, but perhaps one day in the near future there will be.

Maybe instead of hitting the ice in Team BC jerseys, in a few years, they'll all be able to display their Yukon pride on the outside as well as the inside.