Local hockey players in the Athletes Fuel Cup will get a taste of what it takes to play in the pros as they will be captained by professional players including T.J. Brodie.
The other two captains are Seth Griffith of the Winnipeg Jets and Jamie Schaafsma of the ECHL. The three captains drafted their teams for the tournament Monday and talked about how important it is for younger players to get training from guys in the pros.
"I know the group we workout with, we wish there was something like this when we were younger," Griffith said. "It's great for them to come out and skate with us and get ready for camps that they have to go to. It's a good time and good competition."
All three players are from Chatham-Kent and Brodie talked about coming back during the off-season to train.
"Chatham's home and it always will be," Brodie said. "Whenever I get a chance to hang out with family and friends, that's the main part of summer. To get to work out here is a bonus. Not have to drive to Windsor or London and having this skate, it saves us a lot of time on the roads."
Blackburn News spoke with a couple of the OHL players playing in the tournament. Joseph Raaymakers, who played for the London Knights last season, and Grayson Ladd of the Windsor Spitfires are really excited to be mentored by guys in the NHL.
"You watch the pro guys and that's where you want to be someday," Ladd said. "You watch what they do in situations and you can try it. You're obviously going to fail a few times, but it is just good watching what they do and trying to do the same."
Ladd said the biggest difference he noticed was the speed at which the pros play.
Raaymakers said the tournament is mostly for pride, but the guys take it pretty seriously.
"You definitely hear about the next summer until it starts up again," Raaymakers said. "Guys are really pushing for the cup so it should be a lot of fun."
The goaltender added the losers don't have to do anything too embarrassing when it comes to this tournament. He said the most they'll do is buy the winners drinks, as long as they're of legal drinking age of course.