Six locals part of youth team headed for Canada

Six youth ice hockey players from Huntington Beach are heading to Canada to take part in the biggest youth hockey tournament in the world.

Toby Costa, Jeffrey Beko, Blake Rivera, Cameron Platzman, Jason Drechsel and Darrin Ozturk, all 12, are part of the Anaheim Junior Ducks team that will compete at the Quebec International Pee Wee Hockey Tournament that begins Wednesday. Teams from 16 countries are set for the tournament. More than 2,300 players are expected at Quebec City’s Pepsi Coliseum and more than 200,000 people are expected to attend the 11-day event.

The tournament is celebrating its 50th year. In its first 49 years, it has featured some of the greatest players to play the game, including Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Eric Lindros.

The six local players at one time played ice hockey at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach, either on the same teams or against one another.

“I am very excited to be playing in Quebec,” said Costa, a student at Saints Simon and Jude Catholic Church.

“I want to meet different people from around the world. I can’t wait to play ‘pond’ hockey.”

During their two-week stay in Quebec, Junior Ducks players will stay with French-Canadian billet families. The families of Huntington Beach players will also be making the trip north.

The Junior Ducks will play exhibition matches against teams from Canada, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and Sweden before playing their official tournament opening game against the Atlanta Fire of Georgia on Feb. 16.

— Mike Sciacca