OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Ice in the summer, hockey in July: the possibility seemed so far into the future that it vanished into the mist.
But cutting through the sharp edges at the Blazers Ice Center is a 10-year-old defenseman with a name that sounds like he's from Quebec.
Blaze Goss is actually from Oklahoma and he loves hockey.
“I immediately knew this was definitely my passion,” Blades said.
When he was 3, his grandmother gave him his first skateboard, and his father, Brandon Goss, remembers him skating around the house with books tied to his feet.
“My wife and I thought that was really cool,” Brandon smiles.
“Can you tell he was a pretty good book skater?” we ask jokingly.
“Exactly,” Brandon replied with a laugh. “At that point, we knew he had a bit of talent.”
Skating lessons soon followed, then youth hockey, where he worked his way up the ranks from local teams to elite teams.
Brandon and his wife, Jennifer, were simply on the journey together, curious more than anything to see where their son's talent and dedication would take him.
“After getting a few invitations, I'm no longer surprised,” he admits.
“I love skating,” Blades added.
The two found out this spring while Blades was playing for an elite 10-and-under team called Western Select.
“There were three tryouts in Dallas and then one in California,” Brandon explains.
The team qualified as one of seven U.S. teams invited to the Brick Invitational.
“It's like the Little League World Series of hockey,” he continues.
The Brick has been around since 1990. Blaze is the first Oklahoma kid invited to play.
“My goal is to become an NHL hockey player one day,” Blades said.
Brandon added: “Over the years, Brick has had many NHL players on its roster.”
Fourth of July weekend is a time of swimming and picnicking for 10-year-olds in Oklahoma. For Blades, freedom means the same thing it always has: a fast stick, a bucket full of pucks and an open net.
It's always hockey season somewhere.
The Brick Invitational takes place the first week of July in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Western Select will compete against a total of 14 elite teams from Canada and the United States.
For scores and more information, visit the brickhockey website.
Great State is sponsored by the Oklahoma Proton Center
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