One factor is certain, there will be no free spots on the Bingo card once the South Island Royals get to the Mac鈥檚 Major Midget Tournament in Calgary on Christmas Day.
Head coach Trent Brandvold鈥檚 team will board a 9 a.m. flight on the holiday and will get straight to work Boxing Day morning, facing the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 10 a.m. at the Max Bell Centre, kicking off the prestigious international tournament.
鈥淕oing to play hockey in front of all of those scouts will be pretty cool. We鈥檒l miss out on the family [Christmas] thing, but it鈥檚 worth the experience,鈥� said Royals centre Jordan Guiney, who leads the team in scoring.
He鈥檒l get up early and open presents with family, about 5 a.m., and make his way to the airport where the fun continues.
鈥淎ll the best teams will be there so we have to get going every game,鈥� said Guiney. 鈥淵ou pretty much have to win four games to advance so that鈥檒l be tough. Seeing our pool, I think we have a chance of winning a few games. You just never know. We just have to go out there and play our game.鈥�
The Royals will face the Regina Pat Canadians and Calgary Royals on Days 2 and 3 before a rest day on Tuesday. Round-robin play ends Wednesday with a 12:30 p.m. matchup against the Eastman Selects of Manitoba.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to it,鈥� said Brandvold. 鈥淥bviously, this is my first time coaching at the Mac鈥檚. Our team started off strong and sort of tapered off here in the middle. We鈥檝e had a lot of close games of late, a lot of ties 鈥� four in a row, actually.
鈥淥verall, I鈥檓 pretty happy with the first half,鈥� he said of the team鈥檚 11-8-6 record. 鈥淚t would be nice to turn those ties into wins 鈥� getting that extra point here or there would definitely help. We鈥檙e right in the middle of the pack, but I think this tournament can catapult us into the second half of our season on a high.鈥�
It will take a solid performance in the 25-team event that is divided into five pools. This year the tournament has drawn teams from Austria, Belarus, California and all the western provinces, with Ontario representation as well.
鈥淲e鈥檒l see a lot of good competition with all the top teams from Alberta,鈥� said Brandvold, who knows he鈥檒l have a jacked-up team, looking to impress.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e all aware there will be a lot of scouts there with a lot of opportunity to get noticed at the WHL level, the Tier 2 level and probably even colleges, who are trying to get guys early nowadays,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檒l be an eye-opener because all the teams are really skilled. If everyone is going and we鈥檙e working hard we can compete with anyone.鈥�
The team is led offensively by Guiney, who has eight goals and 21 assists, and his usual linemate, Lach Hadley, a WHL Royals鈥� prospect who has 12 goals and 23 points.
鈥淟ach Hadley and I have been together all year and we鈥檝e been putting up some points,鈥� said Guiney, a six-foot-two, 185-pound centreman.
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 a guy who can play both ends of the ice. I can score goals or set others up. I like to think I鈥檓 a good all-around player, who doesn鈥檛 make too many mistakes,鈥� added Guiney, when asked to describe his game.
The two are now on a line with Ted Brennan, a Kelowna Rockets鈥� WHL prospect.
Guiney, whose older brother Nick plays with the Victoria Grizzlies, is not listed by any junior club and is hoping to get a shot with the Grizzlies next season, or any other Junior A team that may show interest, should he perform well at the Mac鈥檚.
鈥淎 lot of scouts and lots of fans 鈥� it should be pretty cool,鈥� he admitted.
