10-year-old hockey player one of first from Utah to take part in prestigious tournament
By Chris Arnold
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PROVO, Utah (KSTU) — Hockey almost comes second nature for Axe Madsen.
On Wednesday, The 10-year-old from Provo was gliding across the ice at Peaks Ice Arena, firing shot after shot at his brother Zane, who plays goalie.
Axe told FOX 13 News what his brother says when he keeps him from scoring.
“He just like, ha ha and laughs and stuff,” Axe said.
However, Axe says he does the same when he puts the puck in the back of the net.
Axe says he has been playing hockey since he was four or five years old, most recently as a defense man.
“Say the other team has the puck in there coming to you, you, you’re trying to stop them from getting in, from shooting to your goalie,” Axe said.
Axe’s love for the sport comes from his dad, Cody.
“Every year we build a 45 by 25 sheet of ice, so we, we don’t have to come to the ice rink all the time, we can stay at home and skate on a Saturday morning or whatever,” Cody said.
It’s Axe’s skills on the ice and dedication to the sport that are taking his game to another level.
“He made the Western Selects 2014 brick team,” Cody said.
The team is made up of elite players from more than a dozen states in the western portion of the United States.
Cody says his son went through tryouts in both Las Vegas, Nevada and Long Beach, California.
“I believe it went from 250 kids total that tried out down to a team of 14 skaters and two goalies,” Cody said.
He says they found out Axe made the team at the end of last year.
“Axe is one of two kids from Utah this year to make the team and they’re the first two from Utah in the 34-year history of the Brick Tournament to represent the state of Utah,” Cody said.
Cody told FOX 13 News on Wednesday that Axe’s journey with the team begins on Tuesday when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to play in the first series of the Brick Invitational Tournament.
“Two weeks after Pittsburgh, we will travel to Las Vegas for a training camp with the team, two weeks after Las Vegas, we travel to Chicago, I believe two weeks after that, we’re in Vancouver, Canada,” Cody said. “Straight from Vancouver, we go to Edmonton which is the grand finale of the Brick Invitational.”
That finale in Edmonton will take place in July.
For Axe, his goal is very simple.
“To beat all the other teams and win the tournaments,” Axe said.
With his ultimate dream, not too far from his mind.
“To get on the NHL,” Axe said.
FOX 13 News spoke with Andrew Cohen, the owner of Western Selects on Wednesday. He estimates about 125 to 130 active NHL players have played in this tournament. In the 34-year history of the tournament, Cohen estimates well over 300 players who made it to the NHL have taken part in it.
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