July 18th Update

Update for Monday evening: Dinner with Mr. Naumov, the Minister of Interior
Todd Woodcroft from the Northern Edge Elite Hockey School was invited to join Mr. Naumov for a very special and traditional dinner at an elegant restaurant in Minsk. Accompanying Todd to the dinner was Todd McLellan, coach for Detroit Redwings, and Curt Fraser, coach of the Belarus National Team. Also in attendance were Slava Kiselev, General Manager for the Belarus International Hockey Federation, his wife Nastya, Arthur Rekshta, Manager of the Belarus National Team, his wife, Alina, the commander of the Special Forces, and a fellow officer. After dinner, Mr. Naumov invited Todd, Todd, and Curt to his house. Mr. Naumov happens to live very close to a new arena that will be opening very soon. This will be the 4th ice arena in Minsk to help accommodate the growth in hockey. This arena is designed to seat 15,000 fans! Also living in the same neighborhood are three North American pro hockey players! Todd, Todd, and Curt were very honored to be Mr. Naumov's guests.

Pictures are posted!!!

Pictures

NOTE: some are low resolution so I'd wait to print until I provide originals. I've tried to get pictures of all the boys!

Dinner with host families....
Tuesday evening, the instructors were invited into the homes of the host families. This was a very special evening for the players and instructors, but even more so for the families. They all went 'above and beyond' to please us as guests and we are grateful. Our Canadian and American boys were really excited to show us where they've been staying. All reports this morning suggest everybody had a great time and learned a lot about Belarusian culture. Many thanks to our new Belarusian friends!

Today, like yesterday, the younger group took to the ice first while the older group participated in off-ice training. Both groups are full of talent and all kids appear to be working very hard. You will see once you view the pictures! While viewing the pictures, see if you can spot Vladimir Tsyplakav, former NHL player for LA and the Islanders! His son is on the ice - he is in the pictures as well!

Tonight, the instructors will be providing coaching clinics for the local hockey coaches. The boys will be with their host families for an evening of rest and relaxation.

Until tomorrow, Cheers!!