Alex Auld will have to get used to the lack of protection when he swaps the puck for the sliothar.
The veteran NHL goaltender is set to become the latest contestant in #TheToughest Trade and he will join up with Wexford Town’s Faythe Harriers before club star Lee Chin gives ice hockey a go.
Auld spent 12 years in the National Hockey League before retiring in 2013 and he now coaches the sport he fell in love with.
The 36-year-old has already landed in Wexford and is training alongside his temporary teammates prior to a challenge match against St Martins GAA Club on Sunday afternoon.
Auld will essentially swap lives with Chin in a move that will see the Canadian balance the process of learning an entirely new sport with intensive training, all the while working with the Chin family.
Just last week we got a glimpse of how Glenswilly’s Michael Murphy got down and dirty with Champions Cup quarter-finalists Clermont Auvergne while earlier that month Welsh winger Shane Williams chanced his arm with Gaelic football.
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“We initially came up with the concept of #TheToughest Trade as we believe that GAA club players are among the toughest athletes in the world,” Mark Doyle, Head of Consumer Marketing for AIB said. “Over in France Michael Murphy impressed his Clermont teammates with his kicking and catching skills and he had no problem lifting as much as the professionals in the gym.”
“Now we’re really excited to see how Alex and Lee get on here and in Vancouver,” he continued.
We just can’t wait to find out which ice hockey franchise Chin winds up at and whether or not he’ll be thrown in at the deep end as an enforcer.
