聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Trae Peterson of Sturgis expanded his hockey passion by playing on the 2009 Selects Hockey Development (SHD) program teams throughout the summer months.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Peterson usually plays defence with the Preeceville Pats hockey team but expanded his dream of playing hockey through higher-calibre tournaments.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Peterson is the son of Conrad and Kristen Peterson. Ivan and Gail Peterson and Jean Babiuk are grandparents. All are of Sturgis.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Peterson was invited to tryout by coaches to play on the SHD North 2009 AA Selects team based from Ochapawa. The team was made up mostly of Saskatchewan players all eight years old with head coach Steve Silvernagle of Round Lake.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The team played in three tournaments: Portage la Prairie, Man., on March 31 to April 2 and won gold; Brandon, Man. on April 21 to 23 when it again won gold, and in Winnipeg on May 19 to 21 when it won silver.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The next phase for Peterson was being invited by coaches Silvernagle and Karsten Wagner of Yorkton to play on the 2009 Westcan Elite hockey team. Players were made up from the three spring camps held earlier this spring. The team brought home a bronze medal for its efforts the Winnipeg tournament on June 15 to 18.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The last tournament for Peterson was being invited back to play on the 2009 Western Canadian Prospects AAA team in the Rumble in the Rink. The tournament was held in Minneapolis, USA from August 10 to 13. Players from the Canadian team were from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. They faced off against teams from Chicago; Minnesota State; Minneapolis and Durham School in St. Louis, Missouri. Coaches for the team were Wagner, Silvernagle and Joe Ritson of Thunder Bay, Ont.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Peterson family, who traveled to Minneapolis to support Trae, were grandparents, Ivan and Gail Peterson; Conrad, his father; Kristen, his mother;聽 brothers, Shae and Drae, and aunts, uncles and cousins, Perry, Carla and Justin, Brooke, Jaxton Keller, Brayden Campbell and Dawn Yaholnitsky.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽"The calibre of hockey was high and the team wound up winning gold," said Kristen Peterson, his mother.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 "It was a huge experience for Trae that definitely helped him become a better hockey player,鈥� she said. The social aspect, meeting new friends and being coached by different coaches, helped Trae gain a better knowledge and increased his ability to be a stronger player."
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Peterson was invited to play in other tournaments but the family chose to spend some quality time together with what is left of the summer months.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 "It was a very cool experience and I really enjoyed playing hockey with kids my own age," said Trae, who is also very involved in lacrosse, ball and curling and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Selects Hockey Development Program was formed to give young athletes an opportunity to keep their development curve moving forward and compete against strong competition from all over the world聽while enriching their lives through a combination of incredible hockey and life experiences, said information on the program.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽SHD allows聽players a chance to compete in high-level events through spring tournaments, local training centres, summer camps and European tours.聽Players are scouted from all over the world to play for teams both during the winter season and聽at the spring/summer events.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Scouting staff watch for quality hockey players with the potential聽for the Selects Hockey Program, the information said. The program is committed to working with dedicated, talented young hockey players from around the globe in their off-season and providing them with the strongest聽level of coaching, development, education and competition.
