Excerpt from Interview with Dave Torrie (Sault St. Marie)

Whole interview:http://www.mayorsmanor.com/2010/08/i...ve-torrie.html

Q: Over Labor Day weekend the team will be doing something pretty interesting, you'll be traveling out west to play in a pre-season tournament against some WHL teams. Your former coach, Craig Hartsburg (also a former Ducks coach), is there in Everett - the host city - did he help pull you in?

A: Craig definitly guided his General Manager, Doug Soetaert, to get in touch with me about the opportunity. After that, Doug and I spent some time discussing the parameters of it. It's going to be a great experience for our players. In junior hockey you bus all over the province. So, to be able to take the kids for a weekend and fly out west, it's pretty unique. We'll get to play three teams that we normally wouldn't play. We see it as a great team bonding atmosphere and a benefit to our players. No other OHL team is doing it right now.

Q: Beyond the bonding aspect, is there also a little bit of pride on the line, with you guys being the lone OHL team taking on three WHL teams...or do you have to push that aside and remember these are just pre-season games?

A: I think it's two fold. You shouldn't get overly caught up in that because these are exhibition games and these aren't teams we're competing with for the next eight months after this in the regular season. So, I don't think we should build that up any more that it needs to be. But, in the same sense, it's a natural rivalry. When we get out there we are representing Ontario. Is it going to be our best team, maybe not. Will the other teams be dressing their very best team, maybe not. So, if you put everything into perspective, it doesn't really mean a lot in the big picture, entering the season. But, there's no doubt the Western teams will want to beat us and we'll want to beat them. There might be a little extra incentive with it being Ontario vs. the West.