At the age of 18, a local hockey player has a lot to be proud of.

Curtis McKenzie, of Golden, was recently drafted in the sixth round to the Dallas Stars.

McKenzie started playing hockey at age five when he was enrolled in the Minor Hockey program here in Golden.

He played here for most of his young hockey career, leaving in his senior bantam year to play in Burnaby where his grandparents live. McKenzie played the rest of his senior bantam year and went on to play midget in Burnaby and when he was 16, he went on to the Junior A level where he became the youngest member of the Penticton Vees.

Being one of the youngest says McKenzie, allowed him to learn a lot from the older players on the team and he soon flourished in his new surroundings.

“The first year I was there we one the BCHL championship,” he says adding that he played a physical game that year, racking up 3 goals, 7 assists and 81 penalty minutes.

Forward McKenzie went on in his second year in Penticton to lead his team in goals (30), second in assists (34) and lead in penalty minutes (90). He lead the team with an impressive 64 points in 53 games in the regular season.

He attributes his stellar season to working very hard under the close watch of scouts that he knew were up in the stands watching.

The Star asked McKenzie if he felt pressured by the scouts in the stands, but he smiled easily and said that he was too busy being right there in the game to really notice.

“I really tried to just play my best every game.”

That sure worked for the charismatic young man who averaged 1.2 points per game in 2008/09.

McKenzie says that learning of the Dallas Stars drafting him was an exciting moment.

“My trainer called from Vancouver here he was watching the draft and let me know. It was pretty exciting,” he says smiling broadly.

For now, McKenzie says his future plans include heading to Miami University in Ohio to play with the Redhawks and study business and accounting. Very maturely, he says that while his ultimate goal is to play in the NHL, he puts equal importance on getting a post secondary education so he has another career to fall back on.

McKenzie says he plans to play a full four years for the Redhawks in order to keep developing his skills in the hopes of signing a contract with the Stars in the future.

In the meantime, he hopes his contributions to the Redhawks can bring them a championship this year. He leaves in mid-August to start training though he says he has already spent two weeks with the team and feels like it will be an easy transition.

McKenzie, who has already accomplished so much, says that his proudest moment so far (aside form being drafted) was playing for Team Canada West in the World Junior A Challenge last year.

“Even though we lost pretty bad,” he says laughing, adding “and it was aired on TSN.”

Despite the 7-1 loss and some razzing from his buddies, McKenzie says the experience was the best one of his life.

He very humbly attributes his life’s achievements to the support of his loving family.

“They have always been there to give me support and have always encouraged me.”

He also says he thinks that growing up playing in the Golden Minor Hockey Association was a great thing.

“Minor hockey in Golden is so much fun. Playing here in Golden was probably the most fun years of my life. It’s a really good program for younger aged kids to learn because they provide a fun atmosphere to learn in.

When queried about what kind of a hockey player his experiences have led him to be, McKenzie says, “I think that I have an ability to okay in all situations and bring a physical presence to the game. I strive to be a complete player.”

McKenzie will join several Penticton Vees alumni in the Stars organization; Brett Hull, Andy Moog, and recent Vees players, Austin Smith.