Home to over 800 stores and restaurants, West Edmonton Mall is an experience in itself.
But the 10-year-olds who are lucky enough to walk onto the venue's ice rink with their hockey bags at the upcoming Brick Tournament will get to see something even more special.
In one of the hallways between the locker rooms and the ice, beneath a banner that reads, “They walked these hallways…” is a list of all the players who have participated in this famous event. With alumni such as Zach Werenski and Johnny Gaudreau in this prestigious tournament; Connor Bedard, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Jack Hughes, just to name a few, it's hard not to be reminded of what it meant to have participated.
“It's really cool to have your name on the wall,” said Joey Nahey, coach at Battery Hockey Academy in Plain City. “It's something that's never going to go away. You just walk down the hallway and you see Patrick Kane's name, Connor Bedard's name. All of those names are on there. And you're wearing the same jersey in the same tournament. It's a really cool feeling.”
This year promises to be a big one for Central Ohio in the event as five youngsters from The Battery will have a chance to add their names to the list starting tomorrow: twin brothers Colton and Tyson Steckel, along with Caden Broccoli, Evan Gardner and Isaac Cantrell, will compete in the tournament to test their mettle against the top 10-year-olds from across North America.
