The beds are strange and the food even stranger.
But Joe Hicketts of the Victoria Royals and his Canadian teammates are surviving the vagaries of overseas hockey at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka U-18 tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
It came down to a roll of the dice in a shootout Wednesday at Breclav, Czech Republic, as sa国际传媒 closed out pool play by edging the stubborn Swiss 4-3 to advance to a semifinal date Friday against Russia in Piestany, Slovakia.
A loss against Switzerland would have meant elimination for sa国际传媒 after blanking the Czech Republic 4-0 on Monday and losing 4-3 to Sweden on Tuesday.
鈥淵ou have to be ready for the quick turnarounds in international tournaments,鈥� Hicketts said, noting the three games in three days.
That鈥檚 not all for which you have to prepare.
Hicketts was asked about the differences between Europe and home.
鈥淭he food portions are small, and I think we鈥檝e eaten the same thing the last nine days,鈥� he said with a chuckle. 鈥淎nd small beds are common in Europe.鈥�
But the ice sheets are larger, which is just fine for a quick and mobile defenceman like Hicketts.
The Kamloops native has already been cited by Central Scouting on its list of players to watch for in the 2014 NHL draft. It鈥檚 no surprise he was chosen an assistant captain for the Canadian team.
鈥淭o receive an 鈥楢鈥� is humbling, because we have such a strong leadership core here among the players,鈥� Hicketts said by phone from Breclav.
The Czech Republic faces the U.S. in the other semifinal Friday. The gold-medal final is Saturday.
ICE CHIPS: The Royals鈥� banging utility forward Tim Traber, going into his 20-year-old season, was picked off waivers by WHL rival Vancouver Giants. The native of Quesnel is of Swiss ancestry, and turning pro in the Swiss league is also an option. . . . That still leaves the Royals with an over-the-limit four returning 20-year-olds on the roster 鈥� forwards Logan Nelson, Ben Walker, Mitch Deacon and defenceman Jordan Fransoo. Each WHL team is allowed only three 20-year-olds. . . . Graduated forward and 2012-13 Royals MVP Alex Gogolev was invited to the KHL summer training camp of the St. Petersburg pro club SKA, which took place recently in Worb, Switzerland. . . . Royals-protected forwards and Prairie boys Matthew Campese and Regan Nagy have received invites to the Team West (Saskatchewan-Manitoba) summer camp in Portage la Prairie, Man., from which the Team West roster will be selected for the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge to take place in Nova Scotia during late December/early January.
