Elite Edge Hockey Showcase Hosts Over 200 Youth Players in Nashville

Thirteen years ago, a handful of young hockey players descended on the city of Nashville to participate in the inaugural Elite Edge Hockey Showcase. It was an opportunity to skate in front of collegiate and junior coaches, a chance these participants, predominantly from the Southeastern United States, likely wouldn't have received otherwise.
Thirteen summers later, more than 200 skaters and goaltenders, some who live a short drive from Ford Ice Center, others who reside halfway around the world, were back in Nashville to take advantage of the showcase so many others have enjoyed before them.
The goal of the camp is still the same - give young hockey players, who aspire to advance in the game, a chance to be seen by coaches and scouts who can make those dreams a reality - but the participants aren't just leaving as better hockey players, they're better people, too.
Here now, a collection of stories from the 2018 edition of Elite Edge.

Sure, scoring lots of goals or dishing out assists may help a young hockey player's cause when it comes to advancing to the next level, but it's certainly far from a guarantee.
Rob Cowie knows that better than most. That's what made the professional scout for the Nashville Predators a perfect fit to speak to more than 200 skaters at the Elite Edge Hockey Showcase this week in Middle Tennessee.
Cowie never played triple-A growing up, never participated in an all-star game, was never drafted into the NHL. However, after a 13-year pro career, including two seasons spent with the Los Angeles Kings, the Willowdale, Ontario, native is still in the game, still working in the top League in the world.
That's the message Cowie addressed to those hoping to carve out a path just like he did - just because you're not a superstar as a teenager doesn't mean you should give up the dream.
"If you're not the best player when you're 15, that's not the time to be discouraged, that's the time to really dig in," Cowie said. "There are different timelines for everybody and there's different roots for everybody. There's lots of ways to get to the next level, but at the end of the day, it all starts with a commitment and desire."
A discussion from Cowie is just part of what the participants receive during their four days spent at Elite Edge. The on-ice sessions are paramount, but nearly as important are the off-ice training sessions and the chance to hear from people like Cowie about what it takes to make it in the game.
"We try to tell the kids, 'You're always being watched,' and something like this is a perfect example of it," Cowie said. "You've been watched, you were identified as a good enough player and now you're at the next level. Just to be at this camp is next-level stuff. There's no reason, geographically, for a kid to say they didn't make it because a camp like this in the Southeastern U.S. is unbelievable."
When the attendees depart at the end of the week, the hope is that they'll not only be better hockey players, but better people as well, equipped to handle the different situations that may arise over the coming years as they look to commit to junior or collegiate opportunities.
For Cowie, confidence is high that'll be the case, thanks to the exposure and experience that can only be gained at a showcase such as this.
And although not everyone at Elite Edge can be named to the All-Star Team at week's end, they'll all leave with the means to make a name for themselves one way or another.
"As a scout and as a guy that helps try to develop players, I can confidently say that everybody walks away here knowing what it takes," Cowie said. "At the end of the day, it's about knowing this is what it takes to get to the next level, whether it be junior or the pros… Now it's up to you to do it."

There are more than 200 hockey players participating in the Elite Edge Hockey Showcase this week, all of them with aspirations of advancing to higher levels of the game.
For the first time in the showcase's 13-year history, there are 24 additional participants down the hall with similar dreams of one day making it to the top hockey leagues in the world. The main difference between them and their stickhandling counterparts is this group of 24 has whistles affixed to their hands when they step on the ice.
Former NHL referee - and current NHL officiating supervisor - Don Koharski, who runs his DK Ref Camps throughout the summer months, has brought his Elite Showcase Camp to Nashville to run alongside Elite Edge. It's a meeting of two of the top showcases of their kind in North America, offering members not only unmatched exposure, but the opportunity to learn from those who have dedicated their lives to the game.
The man with 11 Stanley Cup Finals worked on his resume as an official, Koharski had been looking for a setup such as this for quite some time. While passing through Nashville as a League supervisor last season, he struck up a conversation with Predators Manager of Hockey Operations and Elite Edge Director Brandon Walker, their respective camps brought up in the dialogue.
A few months later, Koharski has 24 young officials lacing up their skates at Ford Ice Center in Nashville.
"It's been my passion, my love, my work since I was 18 years old when I turned pro in the old Western Hockey Association, and I just think officiating is an intricate part of the game," Koharski said. "Our job at all levels, whether it's the National Hockey League or peewee hockey, is to create a safe playing environment for those that play."
That's exactly what Koharski and his staff - including NHL referee Jon McIsaac, as well as NHL linesmen Bryan Pancich and Matt MacPherson, the latter of whom just worked Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in Las Vegas - will aim to do in the coming days as they teach the young officials who will work games played by those skating at Elite Edge. Koharski can offer plenty of on-ice practice and off-ice classroom sessions, but it's that high-pressure game action that can't be replicated in any other manner.
"It is awesome to have Don and his officials part of our program," Walker said. "We have a high level of play on the ice, and want to develop our players, it is great to share that with officials striving to do the same thing."
With recruiters from the NHL, ECHL, SPHL and USHL in attendance, among others, the exposure the officials receive this week could lead to something much bigger than just a few extra games in the summer months.
"It's huge for these guys and they're just enamored - enamored not so much with me, because I'm just an old, fat, gray-haired guy now," Koharski joked, "but when they see actual guys they just saw on TV during the NHL season and they come up and introduce themselves, that's a big deal. But we also let them know that the amateur guys can succeed at the top levels, too. Not everybody is made for the National Hockey League, but your goal could be just getting to an Olympics and then settling in doing NCAA hockey or minor league hockey."
There are only 24 skaters here wearing the stripes who are already serious about officiating, but that doesn't mean someone out there holding a stick in their hands won't trade it in for a whistle one day. And while the focus for the foreseeable future for most will be on making it as a professional player, Koharski encouraged the Elite Edge participants not to discount a profession that may be seen as a negative to most.
When the tough moment comes for most to make a decision on their hockey-playing future, there might just be a way to stay on the ice.
"We're all frustrated players at one time, officials in all sports," Koharski said. "I addressed the group and I told them, 'Boys, there are 749 jobs available in the National Hockey League, and there's 2.4 million hockey players trying to get those spots. If you want to stay in the game and not play in the beer league after work on Thursday night, you might want to think about officiating and bring that hockey passion to the dark side."
If so, Koharski will be waiting to roll out the welcome mat.

Elite Edge is notorious for giving young hockey players - particularly those who reside in the Southeastern United States - opportunities to advance in the game they may not have received otherwise.
But those who call parts of Scandinavia home? They're coming to the showcase, too.
Sam Liebkind and Jimmy Komulainen of the newly formed Nordic Hockey Academy/Skien Ice Hockey Club made their way to Nashville, Tennessee, for the first time this week with five players in tow for the chance to learn from and play alongside North American players and coaches.
Why exert all the effort to come to the United States just to play hockey for a few days? Well, the goal for these players - three from Finland, one from Norway and another from Austria - is to play NCAA Division I hockey someday, and Elite Edge offers a path to get there.
And to these kids, it's more than worth it.
"I've loved this camp," Finnish defenseman Lassi Lahteenmaki said. "The level of play is high, and the exposure you get here, it's just better here."
That's exactly why Liebkind and Komulainen made the journey, to get their players in front of American and Canadian coaches who can see their players firsthand as opposed to watching video on the internet or spending hundreds on plane tickets to Europe.
Liebkind, who is the Nordic Hockey Academy Manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the program, grew up in North America and knows what it takes to play on the continent, while Komulainen is experienced behind the bench, including time spent coaching Predators winger Kevin Fiala during his junior hockey days.
Just as their players have gained invaluable experience at the camp, the pair has been watching and learning alongside their fellow coaches, prepared to implement systems and habits back into their program next season.
"It's been a great experience for us," Liebkind said. "We wanted to compare our players to the local players here at an American level, and we wanted to give them the chance to be coached by North American coaches. It's a different style of hockey a little bit, and I think they've done well. They're enjoying their time very much, not only Nashville and the sun and the heat and country music, but also the hockey."
"It's a great opportunity for the boys and to see and meet new players from the U.S. and to compare themselves," Komulainen said. "I can see in their eyes they really love to be here and really love to be coached by new coaches from the NCAA and American junior programs, but it's also great for me to listen to those coaches and take new things in and be open minded about the game."
Established in August, the Nordic Hockey Academy aims to give their players the best chance to advance into the North American game one day, putting an emphasis on coaching players using English, as well as off-ice teachings like preparations to take the SAT and qualify for college.
"We try to educate our people in the Academy to understand it's a long road and you have to be systematic and tactical in the moves you make," Liebkind said "There's a little bit of luck involved, too, but I think we're on the right path and coming here was really good… It's a good concept and all the kids here in this event get their money's worth to be here and be evaluated."
When the contingent of seven departs Nashville and finds their way back to Norway, they'll do so with a newfound understanding of hockey in this part of the world. And while they'll also take something tangible with them - Liebkind couldn't leave without purchasing a cowboy hat - it's the lessons learned that will stick long after the Tennessee humidity.
"Over here, they look at how you are as a person and how you behave off the ice," Norwegian forward Joonas Hunkilen said. "Many players in Europe don't know that and how important it is. That's actually one of the most important things I'll take home with me."
"To be honest with you, it might sound a little bit arrogant, but one thing for our players is to have that feeling that they're not so far behind the North American players," Liebkind said. "For us, continuing to develop our program and reach that trust with these coaches and these people here, to have them understand that these guys are not just trying to win trophies in Norway, but they're actually trying to develop players for this kind of hockey here - that's the biggest souvenir we try to take home from here."