Sam in Sochi: August 23rd

Aug 23, 2019

Friday August 23rd

Tauros’ defenseman Sam Skinner is representing the Tauros, NAHL, and USA Hockey as a member of Team NAHL in the Sirius Junior World Cup in Russia.  After some connectivity issues saw Skinner’s messages lost in cyberspace we’ve caught up with him and now hope to be back on track for him to send us a quick update each day to let us know what how he and the team are doing.

Click here for more info on Team NAHL, including schedule, roster, and info on the Sirius Junior World Cup.

I feel it’s starting to get real!!! We began our day with practice. It was a hard practice with a lot of drills. Getting prepped and down to business for our first big game. The opening ceremony was today marking the beginning to out hunt for the gold. All 3 of our captains dressed in full gear for the ceremony and carried the USA flag on the ice. They had ballet dancers, children playing the drums and a guest speaker who was none other than the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ceremony was in Russian so I am unsure of what was actually said but it brought a great deal of excitement. We stayed after the ceremony and watched part of the first game between AJHL and Loko. Not sure of the score as we headed back to the hotel to get some rest prior to our game tomorrow. I am ready and focused to play hard and represent my country.

 

Watch the full opening ceremony here