Attention all Northwestern Ontario hockey players aged 9 to 14: If you’ve got crazy puck-handling skills, it might earn you a spot in the Pandora Intercity Summer Classic and a chance to play alongside a team of NHL celebrities.
On Monday officials with the Staal Foundation Open and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation unveiled a new video contest, inviting youngsters from throughout the region to submit videos highlighting their hockey skills.
The top five will earn spots at the event, scheduled for opening day of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada tournament at Whitewater Golf Club in July.
The prospect has 10-year-old Alexander Johnson excited.
“This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and I think I have a chance of winning it because I think I’m very skilled,” the youngster said, after demonstrating his prowess with the puck with moves reminiscent of Tiger Woods’ famous Nike commercial from a decade ago or so.
He still hasn’t decided just what to put in his submission.
“I still have to plan it,” he said. “I think it’s going to be hours of working hard.”
Ethan Dyll might prove to be a stiff competitor.
The 10-year-old also thinks he’s got a chance to capture one of the five available spots.
“I’ve been doing tricks for a while now, so I think I might have a chance of winning. I’d just really love to have a chance to play with Eric and all the Staal brothers. They’re NHL players,” he said.
The eldest of four hockey-playing brothers, Eric Staal said he can’t wait to see what the next generation of future NHLers has to offer.
“This will be an experience the kids won’t forget,” the New York Rangers forward said in a release. “We look forward to seeing all of the road hockey moves in the contest submissions and we challenge kids to really show us what they’ve got.”
The contest will be split into two segments.
Between now and May 23 youngsters and their parents can submit videos to www.staalopen.ca, where a gallery of videos will be hosted. The videos with the 20 highest vote totals will move on to Round 2.
“It can be anything they want. They can include their pets, they can wear costumes, anything fun and creative they want to do,” Doran said. “They can submit it through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using the #TeamStaal2016 hashtag and it will automatically go in. Then they just gather votes.”
The second round is essentially a fundraising portion. Each of the 20 contestants selected will have their video attached to a fundraising page for the Northern Cancer Fund, and encouraged to convince family and friends to donate.
The top three fundraisers will receive automatic berths in the Summer Classic. The other two spots will be selected through a random draw, with participants receiving one ballot for every $20 raised.
