Brooks Bandits heading to Sweden to take on Europe’s best

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -

For the first time ever, the Brooks Bandits the Brooks Bandits will be taking part in the U20 Super Challenge hosted by Farjestad BK in Karlstad, Sweden.

The Bandits also have the honour of being the first team from the AJHL to compete in the tournament.

It’s a brand new challenge for a team running out of competition in Canada, having just won their third straight national championship in dominant fashion.

“Obviously it's a super exciting opportunity that being a Brooks Bandit kind of helps out. I don't think many other people have had this chance. Just go over, make the best of it and yeah it'll be super fun,” said Bandits defenceman, Aaron Brown.

The Bandits will be playing teams from Norway, Denmark and Hungary to kick off the group stage of the tournament.

In preparation the Bandits have been on the ice and working out over the last week.

Training so early into the off season also has players believing this will give them an edge heading into the AJHL season.

But it’s been the trip the Sweden that’s been on everyone’s minds since it was announced just over a month ago.

“We've been talking about it all week and how we're going to go about it as we go,” said Bandits forward, Hunter Wallace. “Everybody's new to it too so I think we're just going to try our best. Hopefully it work out and we're ready to go.”

The Bandits like most junior teams are used to long bus rides, but a transatlantic flight will be a brand new challenge for the club.

But players feel ready for the task at hand, and are doing their best not to overthink things.

“We're going to try to prepare as normal as possible. I know it's going to be abnormal going overseas and playing some international hockey. But I think it's going to be super fun I think that's the fun of it. Kind of adapting and learning as we go through the tournament,” said defenceman Ethan Beyer.

Everyone headed to the tournament sees it as a business trip, and know they’re not only representing themselves but also the entire AJHL.

Brown said “we're not going over there just to have fun. We're going over there to do our best and try to win. So yeah it'll be a good time over there but like I said, we're going over there to do pretty well.”

The super challenge runs from August 15th to 20th.

The Bandits' main training camp opens August 26th ahead of their regular season opener September 15th.