After four years on varsity hockey, Alex Henricks, senior, has a lot of experience and talent to add to MHS’s hockey team this year.

Though he got a late start into the sport, Henricks said as soon as he played the sport, he immediately took interest.

“My friend had a birthday party at the roller hockey rink in third grade and I really liked it,” Henricks said. “My parents told me I couldn’t go far with roller hockey, so that’s when I started ice hockey.”

For his first years playing hockey, Henricks played for the Kirkwood Stars then began to move up the skill ladder, beginning at the A2 level, then to the AA team and then to the Central  States hockey team by sophomore year.

Henricks said he was offered this year to play on a more advance team in Peoria, Illinois, but his parents backed out.

“I played in a show case with some other kids in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,” Henricks said. “Scouts from Peoria were perusing me, and then they recruited me to play.”

Though he couldn’t play in Peoria, Henricks said he is enjoying his last year playing at MHS. So far, the team is undefeated, having two ties and a win in a preseason tournament.

“We are going to be competitive,” Henricks said. “Not a lot of teams will expect much of us, but we will surprise them. Our strong suit is defense.”

Henricks said he usually plays center, but more recently he has been playing on the defensive line.

Though he doesn’t have any specific plans in mind for college, Henricks said it would be cool to play in college.

“I’m going to miss being able to have constant support from my teammates,” Henricks said. “I will miss being able to be yourself on the ice.”