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Garant and DeFranceschi in Italy

Travellling to Italy for an invitational hockey tournament at the age of 12. That's when you know a player has a switch for the game. Mason Garant and Paolo DeFranceschi are in Balzano, Italy playing on opposing teams at the 12U Selects Invitational in the Boys Elite division.


"It is such a cool experience to be playing on the ice with players speaking all different languages and having the chance to be playing with the best U12 kids in the world." DeFranceschi told Powerplay Sports. He is playing for Pro Hockey.



"It’s a lot of fun to play at this high of a level because it is a huge challenge and you get to play with some kids you have never played with before," Garant said. "Our team has kids from all over North America so it's fun to meet new people."


Former Windsor Spitfire Tim Findlay is coaching Garant's team, East Coast Prime. "The World Select tournament is really a well run tournament in beautiful locations around the world," Findlay said. "It’s put on by an organization called Play Hockey who do a really good job at making it a great experience for all the families and the players."


Defranceschi, from LaSalle, scored the first goal of the tournament for his team against Sweden. "I feel I’m competing well against the best U12 players in the world. This is because of the players I’ve been playing against in North America over the last few years."


Check out the goal courtesy of his dad Daniele.



Garant, a defenceman from Tecumseh, has enjoyed playing against players he has never seen before which makes every game a surprise. "It's also great for my confidence knowing i can compete against the best players from other countries like Sweden, Finland, czechia and Slovakia."

Former Spitfire Shane Wright played in the tournament in 2016 scoring 22 points ranking him 4th all-time.


"It’s a real high level of hockey and often times you’re seeing possibly the next future star over here so it’s really a great event to be a part of and I’m happy I could help coach the East Coast prime team."



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This is why...

Powerplay Sports was born while on a trip to Italy in the summer of 2018. Walking through a charming pedestrian underpass reminded me of being in the tunnel at the University of Michigan in the early part of my career. That feeling led to thoughts of Windsor Lancers football camp opening in three weeks and all of the fall sports that weren't going to be covered because of cuts to local sports coverage by legacy media. 

With the support of a loving wife and family, I decided to create Powerplay Sports as a passion project.  

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I've come across some great people who have helped capture the essence of our community throughout the years like Tony Techko, Tony Doucette, Scott Scantlebury, Dom Papa, Steve Bell, Will Hill, Jim Parker and Mary Caton to name a few. 

Please spread the word and follow along here or on social media so we can continue having the priviledge of highlighting our athletes, our community. 

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