From Friday 23 March to Sunday 25 March, an international tournament for the U-10 team took place in Freighburg, Switzerland.

It is a traditional tournament that is also organized under the NHL license. All participating teams thus introduce themselves and perform on behalf of one of the NHL teams. Ljubljana's Olimpija performed on behalf of the Ottawa Senators team.

An additional attraction of the tournament is the composition of the teams. In a tournament (played on the whole court), each team has 3 fives, where the first consists of players of the year 2007, the second of the players of the year 2008, and the third of the players of the year 2009. On the field, the teams change fives so that always the same years play against the same years.

Olimpija went to the tournament in a younger team, as the players of the year 2007 are still fully occupied with the national championship. However, the players of 2008 and 2009 got more opportunities to play.

The journey for the youngest Dragons started on Thursday morning. The trip to Switzerland lasted practically the whole day, which did not stop the youngsters from enjoying the first day and looking forward to a new hockey adventure.

The players are accompanied by the coaching staff (the players were accompanied by the coach at the tournament Andraž Praprotnik) and stayed with the other teams in the barracks, which is located in one of the shelters, which added to the added charm of adventure.

The first day of competition was not too tiring. The first match was waiting for the Dragons only in the afternoon, so they could take time for themselves in the morning, join as a team and see the city together in a pleasant walk.

Parents who accompanied their children to the tournament made sure that the players were not hungry. They prepared a very small feast and the young hockey players enjoyed it even more.

After a long wait and the escalation of positive nervousness, the match just came. The ice was broken, the players felt the rhythm of the tournament live and the first day of competition was a success.

The second day of competition or. the third day of the journey was even more tiring for the young Dragons. There were as many as three matches on the schedule, and at the same time the players also attended the ceremonial presentation of the teams. Thus, the players were on the scene very early, which did not stop them from showing a good game.

During the matches themselves, there was some time to socialize with parents and other peers. Teams from France, Switzerland, Italy and even Latvia were in the tournament. Each team came up with something special and some were fully immersed in the colors of the NHL clubs they represented in the tournaments.

An additional “NHL feeling” was also provided in the locker room, as the team drew a hockey field on the ground and the coach's instructions, and the “analysis” of the actions took place in a particularly interesting way.

Fourth - the last day of the tournament started again with an early rise, but all teams were still on the scene in time and ready for new fights. The last matches of the group competition were played.

The team of Olimpija or rather, the Ottawa Senators scored two wins, two losses and one draw in the regular season. In the end, that was enough to fight for the final 7th place in the tournament.

The Dragons were especially relaxed in the last match. The home team under the Dallas Stars brand stood by them. The Senators players won the match with the result 7: 1 and thus took the final 7th place.

After the end of the last match, the wardrobe was tidied up, and in the meantime, the parents prepared a pleasant and successful presentation of Ljubljana and Slovenia in the exhibition space next to the hall, which was used for socializing visitors.

At the end, they all watched the final match of the tournament. The hockey hall, which otherwise hosts the first Swiss league, was quite full and the children were able to enjoy the real sports ambience, which they are probably not even really used to yet.

The end of the tournament was followed by the award ceremony of the teams on the ice. The players slid onto the ice through the Dragon's mouth, which of course was more than home to our Dragons.

In the end, all the players slipped together, followed by final greetings and photos and it was time to return.

Hockey useful, but for the children it was definitely a pleasant day of socializing. But the young Dragons do not have much rest, as new trainings are already waiting for them during the week, and then next weekend a new traditional international tournament will follow - Železarček in Jesenice.

 

 

 

Written by: Vladimir Ban

 

Photos from the tournament can be viewed at this link.

You can read more about the tournament on the official tournament website at this link.