The best 10-year-old hockey players in Canada and the United States are set to take over West Edmonton Mall.
The 29th annual Brick Invitational faces off at the Ice Palace on Monday and will continue until Sunday, July 8.
The 18 players who will play for Team Brick Alberta took a few whirls around the Ice Palace on Friday morning.
“The first tryout we had was really nerve-wracking,” said Calgary’s Brandan Dvorkin-Frouws, who plays defence. “We played against each other all spring season. It’s nice to now be playing together and sharing experiences.”
Team Brick is flying high coming into the tournament, having already won gold at an event in Winnipeg in mid-June.
“It was very fun. It was a great experience to be able to win a championship with a new team,” said Edmontonian Noah Chadi, also a defenceman.
Team Brick features a name and number familiar to Oilers fans: Smyth – 94. Ryan’s son, Alex, is a centre on the team.
“I’m hard-working,” Alex said when asked about his style of play.
Also on Friday, The Brick made a $25,000 donation to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League assistance program to help those affected by the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
“What happened April 6 affected way more than 29 families. There will be a lot of people that need money going forward. This money will help those people,” said Chris Joseph, whose son Jaxon was killed in the crash.
“It’s another example of how the hockey community is one big family.”
A full tournament schedule can be found here.