Postcards from Quebec 2023

The PeeWee Jr. Avs will be representing the Colorado Avalanche at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Arapahoe Warriors Youth Hockey Association's PeeWee team earned this privilege by winning the Avalanche International Qualifier.
See below for the latest content and updates as the PeeWee Jr. Avs compete at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament:

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FEBRUARY 20, 2023

After watching the AA Elite finals at the videotron center yesterday, the PeeWee Jr. Avs boarded the bus and chartered to Montreal. After having some burgers, the team checked into their hotel rooms and spent the night. In the morning, the team headed to the Montreal Airport. While waiting at the gate the team saw the Montreal Canadians loading up thier plane.
None of us can believe the trip is already over! The players all concluded that the past two weeks were some of their best of their lives thus far. Some of the biggest highlights for them were pin trading, outdoor hockey, playing teams around the world, dog sledding, all of the good food, and snow tubing.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Today the PeeWee Jr. Avs had an exhibition game against the Jr. Boston Bruins. They ended up winning 7-0. Brayden Ehlers had four goals which was a great birthday gift to himself as his 13th birthday was yesterday. After the game, the team went to Boston Pizza before heading back to the hotel. The team then went for another pond hockey skate before heading to the Videotron Center to watch the semi-finals for the AA Elite division. Tomorrow is the team's last day in Quebec.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2023

The PeeWee Jr. Avs had a free day and spent the day with their families. A lot of them took the time to catch up on school work and visit the aquarium.
Today the PeeWee Jr. Avs went dogsledding. They couldn't have asked for better weather as it snowed all night the night before and was snowing all day. Each player was on a sled with a parent and had 5 dogs pulling them through trails in the woods for about 20 minutes. The players then went into a warming hut and got to pet 7 puppies while they warmed up. The pack consists of about 200 dogs! It was an experience that the players will never forget.
Tomorrow, the PeeWee Jr. Avs have an exhibition game against the Jr. Boston Bruins.

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FEBRUARY 15, 2023

This morning the PeeWee Jr. Avs had an exhibition game against Team Maryland. They pulled through and won 4-2. The team had lunch at the hotel after the game and is spending the evening with their families. Tomorrow is the teams first free day so the players will have a lot of family time. On Friday, they are going Dog Sledding.

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FEBRUARY 14, 2023

Today the PeeWee Jr. Avs went to the Videotron Center and had lunch and gave the players time to trade pins. They then went to the largest "Winter Playground" in North America and went snow tubing and snow rafting. Later, the PeeWee Jr. Avs went back to the Videotron Center for a Quebec Remparts game where they had a suite. One of the goalies brought his Avs mask and somehow made his way down to the bench and had the Remparts head coach, Patrick Roy sign it. Tomorrow the PeeWee Jr. Avs will have an exhibition game at 11:20am against Team Maryland.

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Today, the PeeWee Jr. Avs went to an outdoor rink where they played 4v4 for two hours. They then skated along trails through the woods and ended up playing tag before they headed to lunch where the players ordered pizza and pasta as they always do. A lot of them have said that this was their favorite part of the trip so far!
After they got back to the hotel, the players decided they needed more time on an outdoor rink and found one in town. They also got their skates sharpened to prepare for our exhibition game on Wednesday. Tomorrow the PeeWee Jr. Avs will go snow tubing and out to lunch before heading to the Remparts game at 7:00pm.

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FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Today, the PeeWee Jr. Avs went to a hockey warehouse to get their skates sharpened and experience a true Canadian hockey store. Compared to US hockey stores, it was a fortress! They then went back to the hotel and the team had sandwiches for lunch before they left for the rink. The team played the Jr. Carolina Hurricanes and lost 6-1. The team got back to the hotel as the Super Bowl was starting and quickly went to a sports pub nearby with their families to watch the rest of the game.
The PeeWee Jr. Avs have a pond skate tomorrow, a suite at the Remparts game on Tuesday and dog sledding later in the week.

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

The PeeWee Jr. Avs had most of the day to spend with their families. Players went sledding, went to the water park, explored the city and caught up on homework. The PeeWee Jr. Avs then had a watch party for the Avs game and fed the players dinner. The team got to see themselves featured on the Altitude feed twice during the game.
They got a special visit from "Bonhomme Carnaval" which is the official mascot of Le Carnaval de Quebec. He is a seven-foot tall snowman that has been the mascot since 1955. The team then watched the Quebec Winter Carnaval Parade from the windows of the team room and went to bed.
Tomorrow, the PeeWee Jr. Avs will go to the hockey warehouse before our next tournament game at 3:00pm against the Jr. Carolina Hurricanes. The PeeWee Jr. Avs have an outdoor pond skate and a Remparts game early next week to look forward to.

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FEBRUARY 10, 2023

The PeeWee Jr. Avs had an exhibition game against a team from Switzerland, the Swiss Eastern Selects, and lost 5-2. They then went to the Videotron Center and watched the game which determined who they will face in our next tournament game on Sunday which will be the Jr. Carolina Hurricanes. The players traded pins for about two hours before having dinner.
The PeeWee Jr. Avsare enjoying the experience and paying other players for the "rare" pins. A lot of players traded pins with the Japanese team today which was extremely exciting. Some of the PeeWee Jr. Avs have been traded for Avs pins that teams in past years had. Some of them are over five years old!
Tomorrow, the players will be with their families for most of the day before we have a team watch party for the Avs vs. Panthers game.

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FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Today, the PeeWee Jr. Avs went to La Citadelle de Quebec which contains Canada's oldest military building built in 1850 and is the residence of the Governor General of Canada. The players were all surprisingly very intrigued to learn all about it from our tour guide. The PeeWee Jr. Avs then went to a team lunch before heading back to the hotel to let the players do their homework.
That evening, they went to dinner at the Sugar Shack which is a cabin in the woods where they collect sap from nearby maple trees and boil it into maple syrup. The kid's found a giant snow pile to play king of the hill on after dinner and worked off their sugar rushes.
Tomorrow, the PeeWee Jr. Avs have an exhibition game and then plan to hang out at the rink and let the players trade pins (which they are getting VERY into) and scope out the other teams in our division.

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

After a long two days of travel, the PeeWee Jr. Avs arrived in Quebec!
Unfortunately, the team suffered a 5-2 loss to a local Quebec team, the College Claretain Graal, but are looking forward to their next game in the tournament which takes place on Sunday, Feb. 12. The team will be heading to the Citadel in Quebec City tomorrow for an adventure and then having dinner at the iconic Sugar Shack.