Day Two

Friday, February 13th

First full day here in Quebec City and the freeze is on... It's actually sunny with blue skies and ironically that's why it's so cold.  The temperature is only -3 degrees Fahrenheit but the wind chill makes it feel like -25.   We had our first scrimmage today against the Quebec Cyclones at the Arena Rejean Lemelin.  Many of the billet families took time off to watch the team play.  Definitely a bit a rust to shake off before our first tournament game on Saturday.  The team lost 2-0.  Afterwards, the billet families took the kids back and some of players' families spent time with their kids' billet family.  Robert and I took some players back to the Colisee because their billet parents had to work.

Jr. Sharks Swag

The Colisee was abuzz with people coming and going. A scene you don't see every day back home is school kids on a field trip to the Colisee to watch the PeeWee games.  How cool is that?  Another event that is raging like a wildfire is pin collecting.  You cannot even begin to imagine the variety, sizes and popularity of the pins out there.  Wait till our commemorative Jr. Sharks pins hit the market...As I grasp all the different  things that are occurring; it's clear as day that this is for the kids. The crazy hockey parents, the off the chain coaches, the bad officials; all this takes a back seat to what the kids love, playing hockey and doing fun things.  I gotta give it up to Robert for orchestrating the

details of this fantastic experience so the kids can truly enjoy and acting like kids.  The billet families understand this too and know this a very special moment in the lives of these kids.  A big thanks goes out to every volunteer, rink personnel, official, billet parent, those working behind the scenes and in the deep bowels of the arena.  Thanks for making this special for my kid, his teammates and the players on the opposing teams.  Those smiles that beam from their sweaty faces makes it all worth the countless hours spent to make this event a reality every year for the past 56 years.  Of course, our own coaches have something to do it as well...lol.

Smiles coming at you from Quebec