Elite Edge Hockey Showcase at A-Game Sportsplex

We received a note from Kevin Wilson of the Predators Media Relations Department today advising of a neat event that will be taking place this week on Thursday to Sunday at A-Game Sportsplex in Cool Springs.

Brandon Walker, the Predators Manager of Hockey Operations, will be holding the Elite Edge Hockey Showcase, the best development opportunity in the Southeastern United States for future junior hockey players that he’s been running for several years now.

Players from around the world born between 1991 and 1996 will be attending the camp to showcase their skills in front of scouts from top junior and college programs.

On-ice opportunities will start at 2 p.m. Thursday, but some of the action may come from the games played 2-6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, as well as games between the Showcase’s top teams on Sunday from 9:45 a.m.-1 p.m.

Some of the more interesting storylines of the event include:

• Tate Janasek, a Franklin native who attends Ravenwood High School, represented USA in the first World Deaf Ice Hockey Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba last spring, and is expected to do so again this summer. Janasek aspires to represent USA in the 2011 Deaflymic Games in Slovakia. Tate and Jackson were classmates at Kenrose Elementary.
  

• Former Predator Jim McKenzie will be in attendance, and his son, Connor will be participating in the Showcase. This past season, Jim served as an assistant coach for the Thunder AAA U-16 squad.

• German National Coach Uwe Krupp will once again be attending the camp. Krupp was behind the bench for Germany at the 2010 Olympics – where he coached Predators Alexander Sulzer and Marcel Goc – and recently led the Germans to a fourth-place finish at the 2010 World Championships, the nation’s best finish in tournament history.

• Predators Associate Coach Brent Peterson will be in attendance to give a speak to the attendees’ parents at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

• Three players will be coming all the way from Norway to attend the Showcase. They plan on playing AAA hockey in Atlanta next season.

If the Predators offseason is leaving you wanting to see some live hockey action, this will give you an opportunity to see live hockey in the middle of the summer. With coaches and scouts watching, you can be assured the players won't be holding back.

All sessions are open to the public. If you have questions or want additional information, call A-Game Sportsplex at 615-771-2444.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass