Dillon walks into the arena with his new composite stick in his hand, his dad carries his hockey bag, and confidently steps into the registration line.

It's tryout morning and he likes his chances.

He's 10, and for two years he's been the MVP and leading scorer for his house league team. He's fast, can stickhandle and is adept at making accurate passes. His most valuable asset though, is that he never quits. He hustles every moment he's on the ice and refuses to back down.

Every night after he plays street shinny he rushes downstairs to shoot 100 pucks against an old mattress his dad propped against the wall to protect the concrete foundation. He watches Hockey Night in Canada and has posters of Markus Naslund and Paul Kariya on his wall. He 's memorized his dad's video about Wayne Gretzky.

Now he wants to move up from house league to find out how good he can be.

The coach of this rep team is a friend of his dad's, not that the connection will make much of a difference. The coach will only pick kids that fit his team, but at least Dillon knows he'll get a fair shot.

Tryouts are always an adventure. Before a skate blade hits the ice a good coach has already picked most of his team. There will be three, maybe four spots open for players who have specific skills; a defenceman who shoots from the right with lots of speed, or a big forward who will battle in front of the net. Good players without those attributes are out of luck.

As Dillon skates around the ice stretching his legs and his arms, he notices how big the other kids are. They're still a couple of years away from their teens, but already some of them are much taller and heavier than he is.

First up are the skating drills, beginning with the sprints. The boys are told to line up against the end boards. There are six groups, with six or seven skaters in each group. The first drill is straightforward: skate as hard as possible to the other end. Dillon digs in and leaps ahead of the five other players who are big and slow. Next are the tiring stops and starts. Again, Dillon leads the way.

The groups are changed for the puck-handling drills and Dillon is placed with five fast kids. A series of pylons are set up on the ice as an obstacle course. Each player gets a puck and is expected to race through the pylons. Dillon flies through the first half and then loses the puck. The second time he sacrifices speed for control and comes in last, again.

Dillon dreads the next drill where the forward takes on a single defenceman, especially after that last test. He has the speed, but he simply gets pushed out of the way. One time he's almost in the clear but gets knocked off stride by the guy's arm, just as the coach is watching.

The coaches like to see how the players work with teammates so they set up two-on-one drills. Dillon knows he must do well here. The first time up he uses his winger as a decoy and scores, the next time he fakes that move and makes a perfect pass over a stick right to the forward. The coaches are busy watching kids at the other end of the ice.

Finally, the scrimmages, starting with five of the experienced kids against five big newcomers. There are a couple solid hits and Dillon watches as the coaches write numbers on the form they use to grade the participants.

The coaches then pick two groups of kids who are small and fast, including Dillon. He's been looking forward to this since the tryout began. Right off the start he gets the puck and finesses a pass to a teammate, who takes off for the net with Dillon. This time Dillon is the decoy for the goal scorer.

Dillon skates as hard as he can for every second he's on the ice. The second time he's out against some of the bigger kids who've already been chosen. He slams into the corner on the forecheck and pesters the puck carrier. Dillon tries to pin him against the boards but gets pushed aside. He goes after him but the puck is already up to the blue-line.

He's not deterred. He comes back and steals it from a kid going in the other direction and makes a nice breakout pass, a perfect example of how he plays the game. The coach blows his whistle, skates to centre ice and waves for everyone to gather around.

"Thanks for coming out guys. You've all worked hard." Most of the kids have their heads down. They've been through this before. They know most of them are about to get bad news.

"I'm going to call out a list of names. When you hear your name skate over to our coaches at the other end. The rest of you, thanks for coming out."

Dillon stands on his skates, swaying back and forth. He desperately wants to make this team. Sixteen names are called. Sixteen kids have skated across the ice to receive a handshake from the other coaches.

"Okay guys, that's it." Almost as an aside the coach stops. "Oh yeah, Dillon, come over here."

Dillon skates over to the coach, full of anticipation.

"Look, Dillon, you did great. If I was looking for another small kid with determination you'd be it. Problem is, I'm looking for kids with size. Thanks for coming out. You're a great player. Don't give up."

Dillon turns and skates to the dressing room. He clumps into the room to his spot on the bench and quickly gets changed. He avoids eye contact and doesn't say a word. He shoves his equipment into his bag and throws on his jacket.

He races down the hallway, past the lineup of parents and the concession stand. His dad can't keep up. Dillon is desperate to hide the tears that are streaming down his face. This wasn't part of his hockey dream.