Courtesy photo Brooke Bink of Escanaba signs a national letter of intent to play hockey at Ohio State University. She is a senior at St. Mary Shattuck in Fairbault, Minn.

ESCANABA — Christmas is gone for this year, but Brooke Bink is still hoping Santa Claus can deliver a late present before she returns to school.

Bink, 17, is a senior hockey player at Shattuck St. Mary High School in Fairbault, Minn. She is hoping to get a call to join the USA U-18 national hockey team for a tournament in Obihrio, Japan next month.

Bink was selected to the USA team this summer and played three games with them in Calgary, Alberta. But she was notified last week she did not make the final cut and will be an alternate for the world tourney in Japan. That Jan. 6-14 event begins next week with a training camp in Los Angeles.

Bink has already received one Christmas present, signing a scholarship to play hockey at Ohio State University. She is one of an amazing 14 teammates to land a college hockey scholarship on a team that is 30-0-2 entering the 2019 portion of the schedule. Two younger teammates have verbally commited to play at Wisconsin.

“I was really excited,” Bink said of making the team in summer. “I played my best (in Calgary) and then I got a call that I was cut, and it hurt.”

Her coach at St. Mary, Gordy Stafford, said it is possible Bink’s skill set did not quite match the spots those coaches needed on the team.

“She loves the game and has as much passion for the game of hockey as any kid I’ve ever coached,” said Stafford, whose son Drew is in his 13th NHL season and is now with the New Jersey Devils.

“Her main strength is she is very strong, very fast and very tenacious,” said her coach. “When she plays, that is sort of her identity. She is one of those players who is difficult to play against.

“She is as strong on the puck and is tenacious in puck battles. That is her forte, hunting pucks. She is never gliding. She is always going for the puck.”

Bink is a forward on the right wing and admits she had some doubt about making the final cut “but I was hoping for the best. It is what it is. I did my best, I tried my best. It was a really good experience in Calgary.”

She does have some regrets about getting cut. “There is always something else I could have done,” she said. “Now I have to keep working hard and working out more.”

It is hard to believe she can work any harder, but she also knows that will be required as she prepares for the Big Ten and has hopes of making a future U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team. She follows a demanding schedule in Fairbault, with practice every day at 7 a.m. followed by demanding class work and more hockey. This is her third year at St. Mary, where she lives in a dormitory and her roommate – and best friend – is Hannah Bilka of Coppel, Tex., near Dallas. Bilka made the cut for the trip to Japan.

Meeting the lofty expectations at St. Mary was “easy for me” her first year because her brother Nicholas was skating on the men’s team. “It is harder now because I want to be home more,” she said Wednesday while seated on a couch in the family living room.

Her brother’s hockey career is over due to injuries. He reached the Junior A level after St. Mary but has undergone a couple of knee surgeries and a hernia surgery. He will enroll at Michigan State University. “I didn’t realize what I was going through my first year because Nick was there,” she said.

“School is a lot harder (now). You have to be on top of things. You have to have so much energy every day. You have to learn how to make yourself ready for every day,” she said.

Stafford has seen her development over three seasons. “When she came here at times she got frustrated because there were so many skilled, finesse players,” he said.

“The main thing she learned is to play effectively to her identity. She is the kind of player that goes after pucks. She is a great forechecker and kills penalties because of her tenacity and discipline on the puck. She plays her best and tries every day to get better at that. She knows who she is. That is why she is effective. She is a puck retriever, an energy player. She will compete until the last buzzer.”

Playing for Stafford and attending a school “that is so diverse” makes life interesting, she said. “My coach and teachers are so close to us. They are all really good people and watch out for us. They are our parent figures.”

Her first year roommates were from China and Nantucket, R.I. She has roomed with Bilka the past two years. “She is my best friend. We have so much in common,” said Bink.

Bink began playing hockey here from age 4-14, then joined a U-19 team in Marquette before spending a year with Detroit Little Caesars. She also spent a season playing as one of two girls on the Great Lakes Blues boys travel team. “That was a lot faster and we started checking (which is not allowed in female hockey). I learned to keep my head up,” she said with a smile. “The speed of the game was a lot faster.”

She returned to girls hockey because her parents (Nick and Michelle) “didn’t want me to do checking anymore,” she said. “They are a foot taller, stronger and faster.”

Playing on a team that is so talented has been beneficial. “They taught me to work harder and eat healthy. Being at this school makes you a better person, a better athlete. It’s cool. It’s awesome, but it is very difficult.”

Bink said her goal of getting a Division 1 scholarship began when she played on the boys team. She will start school in Columbus with summer classes combined with hockey training.

Bink said her dad was a big influence on her choice to play hockey. Her dad was a three-sport standout at Escanaba High School, then played football for four years at Northern Michigan University, at quarterback and defensive back. He never played hockey, but took up that sport when his children got involved.

“He was a good athlete. He inspired me,” she said. “He worked his tail off in college.”

Michelle Bink said Brooke’s career began as a figure skater. “When she was four, she asked Santa for hockey pants,” said Michelle, laughing at the memory and how Santa could still deliver another present.