West Edmonton Mall will host the 37th edition of the annual Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament starting Sunday. It will feature 14 select teams of players aged nine and 10 from Canada and the United States, with all games taking place at the mall’s Ice Palace. Edmonton Oilers forward Matt Savoie, who laced up his skates for host team Team Brick Alberta in 2014, credits the Brick tournament with “jump-starting” his experience with playing under pressure and in front of crowds. “I thought that tournament really allowed me to see that side of hockey,” he told media on Friday. “It was the relationships I built in that and how comfortable I was able to be with my teammates (that) went a long way.” Team Brick defenceman Braxton Skinner said “it means a lot” to him to make the squad, adding the experience practising and playing exhibition games with his teammates has been “great.” “There’s a lot of intensity,” said Skinner, who hails from southern Alberta’s Rocky View County and lists the Oilers as his favourite NHL team. “You’ve got to work really hard, and it’s just having great times.” The puck drops at 7:30 a.m. on the slate of 42 round-robin games and seven playoff matches, with the final set for July 5 at noon. The tournament has starred several stars who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including the Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matthew Savoie, and current NHLers Auston Matthews, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner, Macklin Celebrini, Cole Caulfield, Connor Bedard, Mark Stone, Brady Tkachuk, Bo Horvat, Jordan Eberle, Brayden Schenn, Mathew Barzal and Jason Robertson. Team Brick Alberta is joined in the tourney this year by the defending champion Toronto Pro Hockey, Montreal Canadiens, Manitoba Junior Ice, Boston Junior Bruins, Minnesota Blades, Team Pennsylvania, B.C. Junior Canucks, CCM Chicago, Saskatchewan Junior Pats, Detroit Junior Red Wings, Connecticut Junior Rangers, Toronto Bulldogs and Western Selects.
