Here's A 10-Year-Old Tyler Seguin Taking A Penalty Shot At The 2002 Brick Invitational Tournament
Just because there's no hockey to watch currently doesn't mean that we can't dive back into the past and re-live some great memories. Actually, maybe that's what I'll do over the next month while we wait for this whole thing to hopefully pass by. You guys tell me what goals in hockey history you want me to blog about and I'll pick one a day. My only criteria is that A) it has to be an all-out SauceFest of a goal and B) it can't be Patrick Kane winning the 2010 Stanley Cup. I'd prefer if it weren't Sidney Crosby winning the 2010 Winter Olympic Gold Medal either. In fact, I'd like to block the entire year of 2010 out of my memory. But outside of that, you guys let me know what goals you want to re-live and I'll do my best to get around to them.
So we'll start off in 2002 at the Brick Invitational Tournament at the West Edmonton Mall. Or I guess as it was called in 2002, the Brick Novice Hockey Tournament. If you're ever interested in taking a look at just how much future NHL stars played in this tournament, you can check out their whole "Where Are They Now" list here. I mean just in this game alone you clearly had Tyler Seguin. And then if you watch after the call is made, a kid with the last name of Zajac picks up the puck.
That's not Travis Zajac since he's 7 years older. But it's his younger brother Nolan Zajac who played a couple of seasons at Denver with our guy Rudy, then went on to play a few games in the AHL and now plays in Norway. And then on the next faceoff after the goal...
Playing RW for the Winnipeg team you've got Mark Stone. So you've got a 10-year-old Tyler Seguin at center going up against a 10-year-old Mark Stone at right wing. 18 years later the two of these guys are making over $18 million combined per year ($9.85M AAV for Seguin, $9.5M AAV for Stone). Every time this tournament takes place, there are always going to be at least two kids out there on the ice who end up making more money than you could even dream about.
As for the goal itself...not a ton of stick-handling going on there but love to see that Seguin still comes buzzzzzzing down with as much speed as possible before stuffing the goalie like a Canadian Thanksgiving turkey. Still
Still just as lethal of a sniper on a breakaway as well.