Two local hockey players
participated in the
World Selects
Invitational U16
tournament in Finland
this past week. The
World Select tournament
alumni includes many NHL
players and expected top
NHL draft pick Alex
Galchenyuk of the Sarnia
Sting.
Sam McCormack and Travis Moore both Lambton AAA players were
selected to play for Pro
Hockey Development, a
team from the Toronto
area. They spent the
first five days of their
trip in Tallinn, Estonia
practicing and
participating in team
activities. On Tuesday,
they took a ferry to
Helsinki, Finland and
participated in the
Opening Ceremonies of
the tournament that
evening.
The tournament opened on Wednesday and they competed against
a speedy Team Russia.
With luck not on their
side, the team lost 4-0
with an empty net goal
scored against them.
Later that same day they
played Sweden Selects
and lost 5-4 in a
shootout . They still
gained a valuable point
though. Thursday, they
were able to pull out a
much needed win against
Hamr(Czech) team with a
6-2 score and went on
then to beat
Atvomobilists 4-2 .
Their last game in
regulation, they played
Norway Selects and took
a 14-1 victory. Pro
Hockey ended up in 5th
position and had to meet
up with a highly skilled
North American team, the
East Coast submitted
photo
Selects. Pro Hockey went
up 2-0 early in the
first but had some bad
bounces and could hold
the lead for long. They
were not able to regain
that lead losing 7-4 in
the quarter finals. East
Coast went on to win
their next game and
played in the finals
losing to Team Russia
8-1.
When asked about the tournament, McCormack said “I thought it
was an unbelievable
experience. I learned a
lot about the cities we
were in. We ate alot of
different foods like
reindeer. I made some
great friends. We played
on a bigger ice surface
against and with some
really skilled players.
It was something I will
never forget.”
Moore added "I loved
hanging in the dressing
room with the boys. I am
so grateful to have been
given this amazing
opportunity. It was fun
to see how different
countries put their best
players together. The
cities were beautiful
and the hockey was
amazing and I wish we
were going back
tomorrow. It was an
opportunity I will never
forget. I enjoyed taking
in the (IIHF) Canada/USA
game. Coaches were great
and I was proud to
represent Pro Hockey and
my country."