Local peewee Grizzly Austin Corsiatto made his international debut a golden one this month, after helping his Western Canada Select U-13 team to the top at the World Selects Invitational tournament held in the Mont Blanc region of France, May 2 ñ 6.
The tournament hosted 24 teams from across the globe, including Russia, Europe and nine North American teams. While he has played in tournaments in the U.S., this was his first overseas trip.
ìIt was kinda pretty cool just playing against them,î said Corsiatto. ìOn the ice, I didn't really notice any difference. But off the ice, you could tell the different languages and different cultures.î
His '04 Western Canada Selects team finished first in their round robin pool against Czech, Russian and Latvian teams, earning them a bye in the first round of playoffs. They faced the same Russian team in the second round, beating them 5-3, then besting two North American teams before beating the Moscow Dynamo 2-0 in the gold medal game.
Going in, Corsiatto says he wasn't sure what to expect, but as the tournament rolled on, he saw his team build momentum and get better.
ìI felt pretty confident,î said Corsiatto, ìbecause I was playing with the best players in the world.î
He said the tournament taught him not to let his guard down.
ìI learned that you can't really take anyone lightly, he said. ìWe did lose a game to a team that we were expecting to beat really bad, but they came out and we didn't.î
Corsiatto, a Grade 7 student at …cole Deer Meadow School, was the top scorer in the South Central Alberta Hockey League this season, capping the year with 72 goals and 45 assists.
After a selection camp in Olds in early April, he earned a spot in the Hockey Alberta Peewee Prospects tournament held in Lethbridge last weekend (May 13) where the top players in the province faced off. Corsiatto's team went on to win the tournament.
Corsiatto will play with Team Alberta in the Triple Crown tournament in Calgary in June, then head to Winnipeg for the North American Classic, June 15-18. He has his sights set on making the cut for the Red Deer Rebels Bantam AAA team next season.
"I learned that you can't really take anyone lightly. We did lose a game to a team that we were expecting to beat really bad, but they came out and we didn't."AUSTIN CORSIATTOPEE WEE GRIZZLYS
