Central Ohio youth hockey team to compete in prestigious international tournament

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A group of central Ohio youth hockey players are departing for a once-in-a-lifetime trip north of the border.

The Ohio AAA Blue Jackets will face off against the best teams from across the globe in the Quebec International Pee-wee Hockey Tournament. The competition is considered to be the most prestigious youth hockey tournament in the world.

"We want to win. We're going up there to win," the team's Will Bechtol emphasized. The tournament is considered by many the Little League World Series of hockey. "It will be amazing to play against these top-tier teams," Bechtol's teammate Landon Detmer said.

"They're on a really big stage," added head coach Todd Ehrie. "Some of the venues can draw crowds of 8,000-10,000 people, which is pretty exciting for them."

The Quebec International Pee-wee Hockey Tournament welcomes around 300 teams, and thousands of players, from all over the world. "The kids from all over the world that play hockey, and different styles, and different ways, it's a chance to experience that," Ehrie said.

But for players like will Bechtol and Detmer, it's not just a hockey experience, it's a French-Canadian immersion as they billet with local families. "The family seems really nice to me. And it will just be awesome living with another family for 10 days or so, and that could happen in the future," Detmer said.

"[It's] kind of a start to what you'll see if you play up through the older levels and into junior hockey," Ehrie explained. "You're actually going to move away from home to continue your hockey path."

The team will likely play a dozen or more games over 12 days, following in the footsteps of many former and current Blue Jackets like Jack Roslovic, Mathieu Olivier and Sean Kuraly. "It's cool to know that I could be there one day. Stay on the path I'm on, because they've gone through the path that I'm on right now," said Bechtol.

Many players already look up to the current Blue Jackets roster and former AAA Blue Jackets program graduates. Ehrie -- who is no stranger to the competition -- is taking a team to Quebec for the sixth time this year. And like the 2014 team -- which one the tournament -- this group of players is hoping to put Columbus on the map.

"We just [have to] practice hard and work hard," Detmer said. "Because every team is different."

The team will play Austria and Switzerland in their first two exhibition games, before opening tournament play against the Anaheim Ducks. "We're Columbus. We're coming to play hockey, at a high level," Bechtol said.

Meanwhile, the tournament also plans to honor and pay tribute to former Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew before their game.