SCHOMOGYI CUP CROWNS INAUGURAL CHAMPIONS
Three-on-three hockey at Varsity Hockey has never been more intense. And with plans to expand the Schomogyi Cup, it would seem that the intensity is here to stay.
Created by its namesake, the Cup will be awarded annually to the champions of Varsity Hockey’s Summer Elite Dryland Training 3 on 3 League. Only players who have committed to the Summer Elite Dryland Training program are eligible to compete.
The program boasts an impressive roster of NHL, AHL, ECHL, CHL, OHL, NCAA and OPJHL players. This year’s championship team was captained by Andrew Martin (Cincinnati Cyclones – ECHL), Geoff Schomogyi (UMass-Lowell ’03 and Varsity’s Director of Off-Ice Training), Daniel Sparre (Texas Wildcats – ECHL), Jamie Tardif (Grand Rapids Griffins) and Kyle McCutcheon (Oswego ’09).
“It’s an unreal way to stay sharp in the summer. On top of training in the gym with these guys four days a week, you compete against them, too. And that 3 on 3 rink leaves you nowhere to hide. If there’s a hole in your game, you’ll get burned,” comments Louie Caporusso, a freshman at the University of Michigan and a 2007 3rd round selection of the Ottawa Senators.
Initially, the league was intended to provide some competitive conditions for guys to skate and play a little shinny in the summer, but right from the drop of the puck in the first game, the players new there was more at stake.
“Being a young guy, I didn’t really know what to expect, but you want to prove something to the guys you train with every day,” said Tyler Seguin, a 1992-born sniper who got special permission to join the Elite Training Program 3 on 3 league at such a young age. And he didn’t just play, he contributed. Seguin’s team, captained by University of Maine forward Vince Laise, lost a heartbreaker to Team Martin in the championship final.
The league will expand from 6 to 8 teams for the summer of 2008, and introduce an affiliate team system to accommodate the increasing number of elite athletes who are making plans to train at Varsity. The “DeGrazia League”, named for Lucky DeGrazia, who founded Varsity Hockey Schools in 1989, will feature AAA and Junior players on teams affiliated with Schomogyi Cup teams. With Schomogyi Cup team captains responsible for drafting their team, trading players, and making sure that they have call-ups to replace players who can’t attend a particular game, there is plenty to talk about in the gym each day the players show up at Varsity to work out.
Chris Terry, who came directly from the Plymouth Whalers’ Memorial Cup appearance to return to his summer training regiment at Varsity, knows all about the talk in the gym. After just one season, he holds the Schomogyi Cup league record for getting traded at four times. “And that’s after only one year!” laughs the Carolina Hurricanes 2007 5th round pick. “The boys started calling me ‘suitcase’.”
“But it’s all fun,” Terry added.
Given how much chirping went on about the Schomogyi Cup, a visitor to the gym might think that the summer training program was to keep the players in shape for their Saturday afternoon 3 on 3 games. But make no mistake about it, the elite athletes in the Summer Elite Training Program are here for one reason.
“The summer program at Varsity gets you ready to dominate training camp and prepares your body to last for the whole season, that’s why they’re here. If, while they’re here, they want to take a stab at getting the championship away from me, they’re welcome to try,” but the Director of Off-Ice Training has no plans of letting the Cup go without a battle.
“I got a few years left in these legs yet,” says Schomogyi, “and I figure I might as well be part of a dynasty while I can.”
The Summer Elite Training Program will start in May 2008, on the same holiday Monday it does every year, Victoria Day. 
| 
