NHL Draft 2011: Unprededented Reebok-CCM Event in Mendota Heights, MN

I occasionally have experiences where life comes full circle.

Returning to my high school—Saint Thomas Academy, in Mendota Heights, Minnesota—to visit an unprecedented Reebok-CCM prospects event was a prime example.

I still remember sitting among my peers watching the St. Thomas Academy Cadets compete against the best high school hockey teams in Minnesota.

The smell of the ice, the sound of carving blades and sight of the two State Championship banners the team earned while I was there, was a blast from the past.

Now, three years later, I returned in a shirt and tie to interview four NHL prospects: Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog, Sean Couturier and Adam Larsson.

All four prospects will be using Reebok products.

Two Reebok-CCM products were prominently featured at the event:

1. The CCM U+ Crazy Light Skate, "one of the most moldable and customizable skates on the market," according to the media guide.

2. The Reebok 11K stick, "a stick that gives a player a spring-loaded effect on their shot."

Also present at the event were defensemen Brent Burns of the Minnesota Wild, a Reebok Hockey Athlete, and Glen Thornborough, Vice President of Sports Marketing, Reebok-CCM Hockey.

Brent Burns, who introduced the prospects, describes the Reebok-CCM company as family, saying they have provided ample equipment that has kept him safe and productive while playing for the Wild.

Last season, Burns had 17 goals and 29 points (46 points), career highs, in 80 games played after two injury-riddled seasons.

The event was spectacularly executed and speaks volumes about the company and the players it endorses.