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By: Scott Hill
National Program Director

A few people have asked me for some thoughts on this year's National Championship event... i.e. who, in my opinion, are the favorites, etc.

Now I haven't seen a lot of the teams coming this year, but I'll weigh in on a few teams that I think are going to be teams to watch...

The Slave Lake Sting absolutely dominated the competition at Play On! Edmonton 2009 - the largest event in the country. For this national championship event though -- they'll be short their best player, who is playing major junior hockey.

The St. John's Road Runners may not have young legs anymore, but when they still have gas in their tanks, they may be very tough for ANYONE to beat.

The London Red Team may fly under the radar at this event. They looked really good in London 2009, nearly winning that event even though they played almost the entire final game shorthanded (due to losing a player to two penalties).

The Calgary Phantoms have something to prove.

The Oshawa Bulls are the defending champs. But will they still have the desire that propelled them in 2009?

The Halifax Pre-Emptive Strike seem committed and hungry, but no one has a tougher Day-1 draw, so look for a tough Day-2 pathway to glory for these guys.

The Vancouver Ball Hoggz are three time champs in Vancouver, and this is the team I would most NOT want to meet early in the playoff round.

The Surrey Sha-tans were IMPRESSIVE in Vancouver this year, and could be a sleeper at this event. The home team Victoria CCCP were one of my favorite teams to watch in the country -- and if all their stars were home from their NCAA scholarships they would be a real sleeper too.

And then, of course, you have your Winnipeg Iceberg (I liked them better as the Winnipeg Jets) who lost last year's national championship event in a shoot-out.

Should be interesting, if you can't attend in person, follow along at cbcsports.ca/hockeydayincanada for live streaming of the Saturday action

Who do you think will win?

Give us your thoughts at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=48882587361

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