Dustin Tokarski returned to the halls of his former high school Monday night.
The veteran of the Prince Albert Mintos' first Telus Cup was the guest speaker for Carlton Comprehensive High School's annual sports banquet.
It wasn't the first time Tokaraski has been back at the school since graduating two years ago, but it was the first time he's spoken publicly there. In fact, it was the first time he's ever given a speech in front of a large audience.
"There's a little bit of nerves," he said earlier in the day from his home in Watson. "Hopefully when I go up there, they go away, though, and it flows nicely."
It has struck him at times how young he is to be giving speeches already about his storied past.
"I'm 19 years old and I'm giving a speech, but it's a good thing, I guess," Tokarski said. "If people are looking up to me a bit, anything I can do or say to help someone younger than me get their goals is totally worth it."
In his talk to Carlton's athletes, Tokarski simply drew on his wealth of hockey experience.
"Some struggles and disappointments, the highs and the lows and a little bit of what it takes to get to where I am right now," he said.
The goalie's career started off with a few lows, getting cut from several midget AAA teams in the province before landing with the Mintos, but since then he hasn't done much besides win.
Tokarski won a Telus Cup national midget title with the Mintos in an overtime thriller, and a Memorial Cup with the Spokane Chiefs. And, this past January, he won a world junior championship with Team Canada, silencing some doubters from earlier games in the tournament with his performance in the gold-medal match.
Since his Chiefs were eliminated by the Vancouver Giants this spring, Tokarski has been training five days a week at the University of Saskatchewan. Last week, he also started working as an instructor at Goal Tec, a training facility in Saskatoon for goalies.
Tokarski will be in Tampa, Fla., July 8-15 with the Lightning, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2008, for a prospects camp. He'll return for the main camp in September in hopes of impressing head coach Rick Tocchet and his staff.
tpruner@paherald.sk.ca
Senior male athlete of the year - Derek Oleksyn.
Senior female athlete of the year - Erica Gavel.
Junior male athlete of the year - Brett Wells.
Junior female athlete of the year - Dalyce Emmerson.
