Froese: Scratching items off his bucket list

MONTREAL - After seeing his fair share of North America over the years, Byron Froese is about to expand his horizons.

On June 17, Froese and his wife, Teil, will travel from their offseason home in Calgary to Auckland, NZ to meet up with the rest of the group taking part in the
2018 Ice Hockey Classic
.
The fourth annual showcase event features teams from the United States and Canada going head-to-head across New Zealand and Australia during a two-week span, raising money for the STOPCONCUSSIONS Foundation in association with Brain Injury Australia.
After hitting the ice for the Canadian contingent in Auckland on June 22, the 27-year-old Winkler, MB native will also be uniform in Wellington (June 23), Queenstown (June 28) and Sydney (June 30).

The event also includes stops in Adelaide on July 5, before wrapping up in Brisbane on July 7.
"If you would've asked me the first place I would go overseas, I don't think I would have mentioned New Zealand and Australia. I actually have a cousin that lives in Australia full-time. It's always intrigued me. It's always been on my bucket list to go to," said Froese, who jumped at the chance to partake in the series Down Under. "It's pretty cool to get to go there in this style and this format and also to go over there with some pretty good friends [including former teammates Peter Holland and T.J Brennan]."
There's a very good reason why Froese has the contest at Wellington's Westpac Stadium circled on his calendar. According to the Ice Hockey Classic website, it will mark the "first time in the Southern Hemisphere that an outdoor ice hockey game has been held at a major stadium."
"I think it's going to be unbelievable. It's going to be a cool experience," said Froese, whose most recent outdoor game experience was at the NHL 100 Classic last December in Ottawa. "It would be really cool to get that place sold out and play in front of that type of crowd outside. I'm very happy to be a part of it."

Froese plans on getting back on the ice this week in preparation for the series, which Canada has won each of the last three years.
"I asked Peter Holland a lot about it, how serious the hockey gets. They want to put on a good performance there because a lot of fans come out to see it," mentioned Froese, who put up three goals and 11 points in 48 games with the Canadiens last season. "From what I've heard, as the games go on, your competitive nature just takes over and it ends up being pretty intense."
During his downtime, though, the three-year NHL veteran plans on enjoying everything that both countries have to offer.
"It's always fun getting away, but I've never done anything like this," concluded Froese. "This will be new for me and I'm sure I'll love it."