It may not be France but it was another amazing experience for Ben Gaudreau.
For the third straight summer, Trappers AAA goaltender competed with the East Coast Selects at the U15 World Selects Invitational in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Last year the event took him to France, but this year’s event just as amazing. In fact, Gaudreau played great in the tournament as he guided the East Coast Selects to a tournament championship by beating Team Russia 4-3 in the Gold Medal game last weekend.
“In Philly this year it was awesome, scouts were pouring out from schools like everyone had to stay to watch the finals because there was a European team in the final so there were about 300 people,” said Gaudreau.
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Gaudreau says another thrill was having New York Rangers defenceman Anthony DeAngelo as part of the coaching staff.
“In the change room he knew the time to be serious and there was time to joke around, and he was there to tell us about the NHL and how that worked out for him,” said Gaudreau about DeAngelo.
It’s an exciting year for Gaudreau, who played last year in goal with the North Bay Minor Midget AAA Trappers, at the age of 14.
This coming spring will be Gaudreau’s draft year. The hype he saw at this U15 event is just the start of an important year for the big Corbeil native’s hockey career.
“If you really want to get to that level of getting drafted that high or even getting drafted at all you have to push that extra level and be that extra elite guy so it is great to see this is the talent level you have to be at, and you have to be at that level and it is awesome to be able to push to that level,” he said.
He credits goalie coach Todd Robillard for helping him over the years. Gaudreau also hopes that this experience will be a springboard for a great season with the AAA Trappers.
