A Winkler youth will represent Manitoba at the prestigious Brick Invitational Hockey tournament in Edmonton this July.
Winkler Minor Hockey player Beckett Fehr made the cut for the Manitoba Junior Ice Brick team after extensive tryouts late last year. He joins players from all over Manitoba on the team, including Pilot Mound goalie Booker Ramage.
“We’re competing against the highest level of play from all over North America,” shares mom Jordana Fehr, who is serving as one of the team’s managers. “We’re pretty proud of him and looking forward to seeing what the season brings. It should be a great group of kids.”
The Brick tournament has welcomed the best nine- and 10-year-old players from across North America for over 30 years, several of whom have grown up to play professional hockey.
Beckett, who turns 10 next month, is no stranger to high-level play—he’s made the top teams in his age group the last several seasons, giving him the chance to play in tournaments in Boston, Chicago, Tampa, and Saint Louis, among others.
“I’ve made it the last few years,” Beckett says with a grin.
“This one’s just a little bit harder, because there’s more draw to be on the team,” adds Fehr. “It pulls kids who may have been playing in a lot of different areas or organizations will come and try out for this one.”
Beckett has been on the ice since he was two, eventually starting out in organized hockey with the local Timbits team.
Last year, at age 8, he played as a double minor on the Winkler U11 Gold team. He’s back on the team this year as a minor and is leading them in points with 48 goals and 14 assists and counting. Beckett plays forward, often centre but sometimes right-wing.
Playing with older kids comes with its challenges, but also plenty of benefits.
“Some of them might be faster, and they’re bigger and stronger,” acknowledges Beckett. The flip side is it pushes him to do his best. So does practicing with his older brother, Tegan Fehr (a Pembina Valley Hawks U18 AAA player who was auto-protected by the Winkler Flyers last spring), who has shown him a few tricks.
“He showed me a move that usually works on a goalie when I do it,” Beckett says.
What it really all comes down to is a love of the game.
“You get to have fun with your friends and compete,” Beckett says of the sport, adding he hopes one day to play for his favourite team, the Edmonton Oilers.
In addition to the Brick tournament, the Manitoba team will also play several tournaments in Winnipeg over the next few months, including the North American Hockey Classic Early Bird, the Spring Shootout, and the Super Elite, in addition to heading to Toronto in April for the Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Cup.
Fehr notes the team is looking for business sponsorships to help cover the cost of ice time and travel expenses to the out-of-province competitions. If you’re interested in supporting the kids, contact Fehr at Jordana.schultz@gmail.com or 204-997-8463 or fellow manager Dan Keeping at danokeep@hotmail.com or 204-803-2569.
