Staff
A Fort Frances teen will look to further his hockey dream–with the whole country able to tune in for the outcome.
Former Muskie Ethan Jourdain will be in Winnipeg starting this weekend as one of 30 aboriginal youths aged 16-18 to participate in an NHL-style training camp as part of the sixth season of APTN’s “Hit The Ice” reality TV series.
Jourdain played this past season with the Thunder Bay Minor Midget ‘AAA’ Kings.
John Chabot, who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings from 1983-91 and also was a member of the Canadian national men’s team, will serve as head coach.
The training camp will start Saturday, with 10 players getting cut within the first three days.
The 20 remaining players then will be put through their paces in various on-ice drills, off-ice training sessions, and a variety of team-building activities.
During the camp, some of the biggest names in hockey are expected to be on hand to give tips to the young prospects.
It will culminate with the players taking on a mystery team in exhibition action, with a host of scouts from the CHL and American universities on hand to evaluate them.
If any of the players perform well enough in the scouts’ eyes, it could be enough to earn them an invitation to a major junior or U.S. college training camp in the fall.
An APTN press release said of those who took part in Season 4 of the series, almost half were invited to various training camps.
And some of those players now are regulars or call-ups for CHL teams.
Season 5 of the series currently is airing Fridays at 4:30 p.m. on APTN, with Season 6 scheduled to air in February.
