Dillon Atkinson. Image supplied
Captain Dillon Atkinson and the Draftday North America team returned home with gold from the European Summer Series tournament that was held July 24 to 27 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The 11-year old Port Elgin resident, the son of Rob and Debra Atkinson and a Grey-Bruce Highlands hockey player, was selected Captain for the invitation-only international competition, an opportunity for selected AAA players to play against some of the best in the world.
The North American team was comprised of players from across the United States and Canada with other participating teams from Italy, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden.
Players are individually evaluated and recruited and benefit from high level coaching, development and education with a list of alumni who have gone on to play in the NHL, CHL, World Juniors and Division-I college hockey.
Atkinson began his hockey skills development in the Saugeen Shores Minor Hockey program before moving to the Grey-Bruce AAA Highlanders program three years ago. He spent several weeks training with his teammates at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford in preparation for the European Summer Series.
After going four wins and one loss in round robin play, Atkinson's team moved onto the championship semis, beating Sweden Yellow to move on against Sweden Green, the final game a 4-2 victory to capture gold.
