PROVO, Utah — For Ax Madsen, hockey is almost second nature.
On Wednesday, the 10-year-old from Provo skated across the ice at Peaks Ice Arena, firing shot after shot at his brother Zane, the goalie.
Ax told FOX 13 News what his brother says when he gets in the way of scoring.
“He just likes to laugh and laugh,” Ax said.
But Ax says he does the same thing when putting the puck in the back of the net.
Ax has been playing hockey since he was 4 or 5 years old, and recently he has been playing as a defenseman.
“Let's say the other team has a puck coming to you, and you're trying to stop them from getting into the puck and trying to prevent them from taking a shot at the goalie,” Ax said. Told.
Ax's love for sports comes from his father, Cody.
“Every year we build a 45-by-25 sheet of ice so you don't have to come to the ice rink all the time, you can stay home and skate on a Saturday morning or whatever,” Cody said.
Ax's on-ice skills and dedication to the sport are taking his game to a new level.
“He was selected to the Western Select 2014 varsity team,” Cody said.
The team is made up of elite athletes from more than a dozen states in the western United States.
Cody said her son had tryouts in both Las Vegas, Nevada, and Long Beach, California.
“I think a total of 250 kids that attended tryouts ended up being a team of 14 skaters and two goalies,” Cody said.
He says he found out about Ax joining the team late last year.
“Ax is one of two kids from Utah selected to the team this year and the first two Utah natives to represent Utah in the 34-year history of the Brick Tournament,” said Cody. said.
Cody told FOX 13 News Wednesday that Ax's journey with the team begins on Tuesday when they head to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to compete in the first series of the Brick Invitational Tournament.
“I think two weeks after Pittsburgh I'll be in Las Vegas with the team for training camp, two weeks after Las Vegas I'll be in Chicago, and two weeks after that I'll be in Vancouver, Canada,” Cody said. “We’re going straight from Vancouver to Edmonton for the grand finale of the Brick Invitational.”
The finale in Edmonton will be held in July.
Ax's goal is very simple.
“It's about beating all the other teams and winning the tournament,” Ax said.
His ultimate dream is not far away.
“It’s to get to the NHL,” Ax said.
FOX 13 News spoke with Western Select owner Andrew Cohen on Wednesday. He estimates that about 125 to 130 active NHL players played in the tournament. Cohen estimates that over his 34-year history of the tournament, well over 300 of his players who played in the NHL have participated in the tournament.
A GoFundMe has been created for Ax to help pay for travel and other expenses.
If you would like to donate, please visit our donation page here.
