Crikey! Ian Cole Representing USA In Australian Exhibition Series

Players have to work to stay in shape during the off-season, but who said that you can't get a vacation while you do it? That's the mindset of a hodgepodge of NHL, AHL, ECHL, and NCAA players who are heading to Australia this month to participate in the Australian Exhibition Series, where the Douglas Webber Cup is at stake.

Don't worry if you have no idea what the Douglas Webber Cup is. Neither do NHLers like Matt Kassian, Emerson Etem, Team Canada captain Andrew Gordon, or "St. Louis Blues star" and team USA captain (?!?) Ian Cole. They're going down there to get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity wander through the Outback (or whatever it is they have scheduled on off days) while promoting stopconcussionsnow.com and hockey in general. The Australian Ice Hockey League is a small one but it has a dedicated following; any promotion the sport gets there is probably key to the success of the league, and who doesn't want to watch Australians play hockey? Look at what they do with rugby.

They apparently have an after-party after every game, too.

I say we encourage this.

Canada took game one on Friday 9-6 in Perth, and I can't find the score for Saturday's game. The remaining matches are Brisbane on July 19th, Melbourne on July 25th, and Sydney on July 26th.