It’s not every day that an athlete gets to compete in a title game on a national stage.
For goaltender Trey Augustine, he is fortunate enough to be a part of such an elite group as he and his Honeybaked teammates were crowned champions of the 2021 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier I 15-Only National Championship in May 2021.
Even a month after leaving the ice at the Children's Health StarCenter in the Dallas suburb of Euless, Augustine continues to have a sense of pride when he thinks about what he and his teammates were able to accomplish this season.
“It was a really great experience,” Augustine said. “It was great to come out on top in the whole country and it was an honor to do that with the group we had at Honeybaked and that coaching staff. It really put the cherry on top of my last youth hockey game.”
As a part of the 2005 birth year, being able to compete for a national title is about as good as it gets for Augustine. At this point in what promises to be a long hockey career, winning Nationals was the major milestone in terms of accomplishments and development.
“That is probably the biggest tournament I’ve been able to play in so far and just having that experience,” Augustine said. “It gave me a little bit of a taste of what it takes to play in international tournaments and just you that experience that can give you a bit of an edge over some competition.”
A little more than a week after being named a champion, Augustine found himself back in a position where he had to prove his skills both on and off the ice as he, along with 48 of the top American hockey players born in 2005 were invited to USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp.
For the South Lyon, Mich., native it was a dream come true.
“It was an honor to be invited and to have the chance to represent my country but to also make the team, which has been a goal of mine for a really long time,” he said. “The camp went really well and it’s an honor to represent the U.S. for the next two years.”
After five days of drills, scrimmages and nonstop training, USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program released its 2021-22 team roster on May 21, and among the names on the list was none other than Trey Augustine.
To say he was excited that one of his major goals had final been reached would be an understatement.
“It was a relief to be able to know all my hard work over the years had paid off and that I’m able to play for my country now. It was a really good feeling and I am excited to get going,” Augustine said.
As he begins to look ahead at what the next two years in Plymouth, Mich., will have in store, Augustine is eager to take advantage of every opportunity as he continues to refine his game with one eye on a bright future.
“The development there is second to none and is probably the best place to develop for a hockey player in the country,” he said.
“I am looking forward to using all my resources there and make myself better as a hockey player and person every single day. I want to win golds medals and championships with the group we have.”
Sidney Binger is the 2020-21 Brian Fishman Intern.