Ask any player who has played in the Canadian Hockey League and they'll tell you there's a special bond among the players honing their skills in the league.
Ask any coach of the bond they have with their opposing coaches and there you might even find something closer: a fraternity.
I use the term fraternity loosely as most people reading this blog might envision Will Ferrell in the movie 'Old School' running through the street in his birthday suit -- yelling and pointing at oncoming traffic.
One day ahead of the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup, it's clear the coaches have the utmost respect for one another but it goes even farther than that. The cast of characters extends beyond the four coaches looking to claim this year's Memorial Cup.
Of the four head coaches at the tournament, just one, Spokane's Bill Peters, has never been here before. Although he loses in experience over his competitors, Peters isn't going in blindfolded.
Which brings me to the fraternity. Experience is not something which can be learned from a book nor can it be simulated in a video game. In saying that, a lot can be taken away learning from those who have been here before.
The fraternity is something Bill Peters called upon in preparing for his first Memorial Cup tournament. Like a first-semester student in college, his note-taking abilities were put into play in the time off between his Western Hockey League championship run and the beginning of the tournament.
Peters spoke with several coaches including former Kelowna Rockets coach Jeff Truit and Vancouver Giants bench boss Don Hay.
"I actually went through two legal pads and got writer's cramp," Peters stated with a big smile in Thursday's press conference.
You might think Hay would be reluctant to offer advice to the coach who knocked his team out of the playoffs in the second round but in this fraternity, such matters can be overlooked.
Among those things learned was the importance of winning the first game. The Memorial Cup is the hardest trophy to win in any team sport given each team needs to go through four rounds to win their league championship before facing other league champions. After undergoing a grueling two-month playoff schedule where practices and rest are sometimes put on the back-burner, this tournament can end quicker than it began.
"Huge. Flat out huge," Peters said when referring to the advice he received with regards to acquiring the first win. "The format of the tournament has changed to more of a level playing field in my opinion and getting that first W is a big thing."
Peters will get his chance on Saturday when his Chiefs face the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls.
Just don't expect a similar celebration in the streets of Kitchener if his Chiefs are successful.
