British number one Dan Evans was unable to earn a clay-court win before next week's French Open after losing to Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Hamburg Open first round.

Evans will head to Paris for the Grand Slam event which starts on Sunday.

Liam Broady could join him in the main draw, but must beat Botic van de Zandschulp later on Wednesday.

British number six Broady plays the Dutchman in their second qualifying match at Roland Garros and victory would leave the 26-year-old one more win from playing in the main draw for the first time.

Fellow Briton Samantha Murray Sharan was also aiming to reach the main draw of the women's singles for the first time, but lost 6-3 7-6 (7-1) to Australia's Arina Rodionova in her opening qualifier.

Meanwhile, British men's number three Cameron Norrie suffered a shock defeat at a Challenger event in Italy.

Second seed Norrie, who is ranked 71st in the world, lost 6-2 6-4 to Italian world number 343 Andrea Pellegrino.

Exeter's upcoming European Champions Cup semi-final is not as important in the club's history as winning promotion to the Premiership in 2010, says director of rugby Rob Baxter.

Exeter, who are top of the Premiership, will host French side Toulouse in the last four this weekend.

"Getting out of the Championship's been our biggest hurdle," Baxter said.

"You don't have to look back through the history of this club to not work out that the step that was the big one was getting out of the Championship.

"Getting out of the Championship took a hundred and whatever years, the reality is getting into the Premiership and staying in the Premiership has been relatively simple compared to getting out of the Championship in terms of time itself."

This season Exeter have dominated at home and abroad for the first time, winning five of their six European pool games and establishing an unassailable lead at the top of the Premiership with two rounds to play.

But they have come up short in three-quarters of the Premiership finals they have played - losing to Saracens in 2016, 2018 and 2019, as well as being beaten by Wasps in the last minute of their only previous Champions Cup knockout match back in 2016.

But Baxter believes the experience of losing those big games has helped his players form the squad he has today.

"We've been very open and assessed all the wins and losses in finals together," he said.

"We've got a large group of players now who have been involved in quite a few of those finals and quite a lot of them understand the emotional difference between getting to a final or getting to a big game and that being the biggest stepping stone and that being the all important thing and actually making sure the performance justifies you being there.

"I think actually there's a genuine understanding that it can't be a feeling of relief to be in a semi-final, it has to be a feeling of challenge.

"There's no feeling in this club at all of guys walking around with big smiles on their faces like they've just won the lottery, they're walking around like there's a job to be done and that's purely come from being involved in finals and the experience of it being great to just have a great day out, and also moving on beyond that which is what they've done."

Meanwhile Exeter have confirmed that plans for a crowd of 1,000 to watch their Premiership game with London Irish on Wednesday 30 September have been called off.

The fixture at Sandy Park had been one of a number of pilot events to allow the safe return of spectators to matches in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

But following increased government restrictions due to the rise in cases the match will now be played behind closed doors.

Former Ireland captain Claire Molloy has returned to Adam Griggs' squad for October's rescheduled Women's Six Nations fixtures.

Ulster's Claire McLaughlin and forwards Edel McMahon and Aoife McDermott will miss the games through injury.

Ireland host Italy on 25 October before rounding out their Six Nations campaign away to France on 1 November.

The 2021 Rugby World Cup European qualifiers are scheduled to be played as a single round-robin tournament from 5-19 December.

Ireland sit third in the Six Nations table with two wins from their three games in the spring and the return of back row Molloy is a timely boost for Griggs.

The 32-year-old represented Ireland at three World Cups and adds significant experience in a 34-player squad which includes the uncapped trio of Shannon Touhey, Neve Jones, and Katie O'Dwyer.

Ireland squad

Backs: Breen, Claffey, Considine, Cronin, Dane, Delany, Doyle, Fitzhenry, Hughes, Keohane, Muldoon, Murphy, Naoupu, Parsons, Sheehan, Touhey, Tyrrell

Forwards: Bobbett, Caplice, Cooney, Dabanovich O'Mahony, Djougang, Feely, Fryday, Griffin, Jones, Lyons, Molloy, Moloney, O'Connor, O'Dwyer, Pearse, Peat, Wall

Former Wales coach Rob Howley has been named assistant Canada coach following his return to the sport after being banned for a betting breach.

Howley, 49, was banned from rugby for 18 months from 16 September, 2019, with nine suspended, for betting on matches, including Wales games.

He was withdrawn from Wales' 2019 World Cup campaign when the breach surfaced.

Howley will also act as a consultant to Toronto Arrows for their 2021 Major League Rugby (MLR) campaign as he helps Jones prepare the Canucks ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

Howley said: "I'm excited to get to work and help prepare Canada for Rugby World Cup qualification.

"I am also looking forward to my first season in MLR with the Toronto Arrows.

"There is a tremendous opportunity to leverage the synergy of a professional club loaded with domestic players in an emerging league to help support the national team - it is very similar to my past experience coaching in Wales."

Canada boss Jones said: "Rob is one of the most highly regarded coaches in international rugby and I'm ecstatic that he will be joining us at Rugby Canada.

"He's someone that I've known and respected for a long time and the opportunity to have Rob join our programme is a huge step forward for Canadian rugby.

"His experience and expertise will benefit not only our young players but our entire coaching staff."

In the wake of his ban from the sport after he had placed 363 bets on 1,163 matches over four years, Howley apologised for breaching betting rules as he "battled demons" in the wake of his sister's death.

He had been due to leave his role as Wales assistant coach after the 2019 World Cup and was linked with coaching Italy before the betting breach was revealed.

Since being eligible to return to active rugby duty, Howley was linked with returning to a coaching role with one of his former clubs, Wasps.

But Howley's future now lies back in international rugby with Rugby Canada's director of rugby operations Dustin Hopkins expressing his satisfaction with the former scrum-half's appointment.

"I'd like to thank Bill Webb and the Toronto Arrows for their partnership, in conjunction with philanthropic donations from dedicated Canadian rugby supporters in aiding Rugby Canada's ambition in bringing Rob to Canada," said Hopkins.

As a coach, Howley joined Cardiff Blues before becoming part of Warren Gatland's Wales set-up that won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams between 2008 and 2019.

Howley was also the Lions backs coach for three tours in 2009, 2013 and 2017.

Pro14 organisers have confirmed they are in talks about increasing the number of South African teams in the competition.

Cheetahs and Southern Kings have been the two sides involved in the Pro14.

Kings will not be involved in 2020-21 after going into liquidation and negotiations are ongoing about which franchise will take their place.

A Pro14 statement said: "On August 25, Pro14 Rugby acknowledged under current international travel restrictions it is not possible for South African teams to fulfil Guinness Pro14 fixtures until 2021.

"Pro14 Rugby welcomes the news that the South African Rugby Union (SA Rugby) has been able to arrange a domestic schedule for its professional teams and that this is the first step in the return of their teams to on-field action.

"SA Rugby's long-standing commitments are to field two teams in the Guinness Pro14 and in light of the withdrawal of the Southern Kings, discussions are on-going about fulfilling this agreement from 2021 using a replacement team from its current professional franchises.

"Additionally, both Pro14 Rugby and SA Rugby are in early discussions about potentially expanding the tournament and deepening our partnership to include more South African franchises from 2021."

The league confirmed in August the South African sides will not play in the Pro14 for the rest of 2020, missing the start of the 2020-21 season, but Pro14 bosses are still negotiating with SA Rugby about involvement in this campaign.

The 12 teams from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy will begin the new campaign with the first round of 11 fixtures not involving the South African sides.

In the longer term, and as a result of significant changes to rugby's global competition structures, the Pro14 is the likely future home for more South African involvement.

When the southern hemisphere's Super Rugby was cut from 18 to 14 teams in 2017, SA rugby's Kings and Cheetahs were the ones to lose out before being welcomed into the what became the Pro14 fold.

In recent months, New Zealand has set out plans for its own future path, which does not involve Bulls, Lions, Stormers and Sharks.

Top tiers in English and French rugby involve domestic promotion and relegation, leaving the Pro14 - a competition of franchises, regions and provinces - open to potential expansion.

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Brent Marks held off a late challenge from Kerry Madsen to win night one of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions Governors Reign hosted on Tuesday at Eldora Speedway.

It’s Marks’ fourth win of the year, which earned him a $10,000 prize against a stout field of 48 cars during Eldora’s only sprint car event of the season.

Madsen finished second, 1.412 seconds behind, and nearly took the lead with two laps to go when Marks’ pace had slowed due to damage caused by hitting a large chunk of clay in traffic. Marks used a slower car as they came to the one to go signal to keep Madsen at bay and surge to his biggest win of the season.

“This car was phenomenal all night long,” Marks said. “This is amazing. The first time in this car at Eldora Speedway. [CJB Motorsports] has always been fast here. I’ve felt really comfortable here. We were just really good all night long.

“I was just trying to hold on there at the end,” added Marks, whose car leaked fluid in victory lane.

Marks started the night by timing fastest in his group and he locked himself into the dash from there. David Gravel kicked the night off in style with a new track record in time trials, his 12.599-second lap shattering Craig Dollansky’s 18-year-old mark of 12.707 seconds.

Gravel appeared to be the early favorite, rolling to a convincing victory in his heat, but it was Marks who stayed steady and attacked at the right time.

James McFadden led the first nine laps before Marks took the lead from fourth on lap 10. McFadden countered to lead lap 12, but Marks got the Australian back for good in the next corner to eventually lead the final 19 circuits.

The Myerstown, Pa., native raced to a 2.5-second lead, but it vanished when series points leader Aaron Reutzel brought out the yellow with 10 laps to go. Two more quick cautions followed, one for Sheldon Haudenschild and another for Gravel, who spun when Madsen cut across his nose on the second-to-last restart.

That’s when Marks’ slim lead of a second with four laps to go turned into a short-lived battle for the win with two circuits left.

“Car was great. We had a big stumble problem at the start,” Madsen said. “Long runs I felt really comfortable. I could maneuver anywhere I wanted to in three and four. Two to go I finally shot off the top there and thought it was going to be good enough but [Marks] cut back under it. That was that.”

Marks sealed the win when he drove around the lapped car of Paul McMahan to take the white flag, ultimately stunting Madsen’s momentum.

“I think we’ll have a little bit of a different track tomorrow,” Marks said. “I think it’ll be a little more slick and get nice and wide there. … This car was a lot of fun to drive. It feels awesome to be back in victory lane at Eldora Speedway again.”

Shane Stewart finished third in the Indy Race Parts No. 71. Logan Schuchart raced to fourth from the B-Main. Carson Macedo finished fifth.

Jacob Allen charged to sixth from 23rd, while McFadden, Parker Price-Miller, Kyle Larson and Donny Schatz rounded out the top 10.

The finish:

1. 5-Brent Marks [4]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 3. 71-Shane Stewart [11]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [21]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [10]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [22]; 7. 9-James McFadden [2]; 8. 14P-Parker Price-Miller [8]; 9. 57-Kyle Larson [16]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 11. 18-Gio Scelzi [5]; 12. 49-Brad Sweet [18]; 13. 14-Tim Kaeding [15]; 14. 21-Brian Brown [9]; 15. 26-Cory Eliason [14]; 16. 21B-Christopher Bell [12]; 17. 41-David Gravel [6]; 18. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [23]; 19. 39-Sammy Swindell [7]; 20. 17-Ian Madsen [24]; 21. 13-Paul McMahan [19]; 22. 17A-Austin McCarl [17]; 23. 17S-Sheldon Haudenschild [20]; 24. 87-Aaron Reutzel [13]; 25. 12N-Joey Saldana [25].

LAS VEGAS – Chase Briscoe, the top-seeded driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, will lead the field to green for the postseason opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Briscoe, who won seven times during the regular season, earned the top spot based on NASCAR’s metric qualifying formula. The NASCAR matrix factors in a driver’s lap speed ranking from the previous race, the last race finish for both driver and owner and the car’s current rank in the owner standings.

Lap speed is weighted at 15 percent, previous race finish at 25 percent for the driver and owner results and owner points position at 35 percent to calculate the final metric score.

Driver and owner playoff-eligible entries are ranked at the front of the field based on their metric scores from lowest to highest, with all non-playoff entries lined up behind the playoff cars in similar fashion.

Briscoe’s pole start came with a perfect score of 1.0, considering he won the regular season finale at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, posted the fastest lap during that race and lead the standings entering Las Vegas.

Austin Cindric, tied in points with Briscoe going into Saturday’s Alsco 300, lines up on the front row alongside his fellow Ford driver. The Chevrolet pair of Justin Allgaier and Ross Chastain makes up the second row, with the Toyota of Harrison Burton starting fifth.

Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones, Anthony Alfredo, Riley Herbst, Justin Haley, Brandon Brown, Ryan Sieg, Michael Annett and Daniel Hemric fill out the first seven rows of the grid.

Alfredo and Hemric are both driving for teams that made the owner playoffs. Alfredo will wheel the No. 21 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing at Las Vegas, while Hemric returns to the seat of the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.

Jeremy Clements is starting highest among non-playoff teams in 15th place.

The full starting lineup and metric breakdown can be viewed by clicking here.

The Alsco 300 is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET start on Saturday, with live coverage on NBCSN, the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

CONCORD, N.C. – Kevin Harvick will start the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs from the pole on Sunday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Harvick topped NASCAR’s performance matrix based on his victory last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where he also set the second fastest lap of the race and maintained his position at the top of the Cup Series point standings.

The starting lineup was determined by NASCAR’s metric qualifying formula, which factors in a driver’s lap speed ranking from the previous race, the last race finish for both driver and owner and the car’s current rank in the owner standings.

Lap speed is weighted at 15 percent, previous race finish at 25 percent for the driver and owner results and owner points position at 35 percent to calculate the final metric score.

Driver and owner playoff-eligible entries are ranked at the front of the field based on their metric scores from lowest to highest, with all non-playoff entries lined up behind the playoff cars in similar fashion.

Kyle Busch, who is still chasing his first victory of the season at NASCAR’s top level, will join Harvick on the front row of the South Point 400 at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Chase Elliott will start third in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola, Team Penske’s Joey Logano, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski.

View the entire starting lineup below.

When the Stanley Cup playoffs began in August, we asked recently retired forward Kris Versteeg to delve into the NHL's new relaxed dress code policy, and critique which teams were (and weren't) allowing players to shine in the bubble. As the tournament winds down, we called Versteeg again, this time to analyze who has (and hasn't) been shining on the ice.

Versteeg played 15 seasons of pro hockey and won two Stanley Cups, both with the Chicago Blackhawks, which gives him a unique perspective watching this year's Stanley Cup Final between the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning. Versteeg shared the small details that a seasoned NHL vet notices watching the games -- like Nikita Kucherov's obsession over changing his stick tape -- as well as what type of impact Steven Stamkos could have coming off a six-month absence, and why Tyler Seguin hasn't been more effective this summer. Plus, Versteeg highlights a player on both teams to whom you should be paying more attention.

You can follow Versteeg on Instagram (@stigalicious), where he often posts in-game analysis, or check him out on regular appearances for Sirius XM NHL Network Radio and Sportsnet. Here are six keys to the rest of the Stanley Cup Final, in Versteeg's own words:

More: Click here for the entire Stanley Cup Final schedule.

Nikita Kucherov vs. his stick tape

"In the first series, I started wondering, why is Kucherov using [Ondrej] Palat's stick? It was the same tape job Palat was using; I was really confused. Why is Kucherov using white tape? He always uses black tape. Palat even had Kucherov's tape job, it looked like. And then they lost, and I noticed Kucherov was even going back and forth during shifts. I don't get how he's doing that. When you use white tape, you actually can't see your blade because it blends with the ice. When you use black tape, you can't see the puck as well because it blends with the puck. So for him to switch from black to white tape every shift has to be the wildest thing I've ever seen. I don't know how someone would do it, I really don't.

"It's definitely a superstitious thing. He probably gets a couple bad shifts with the black tape, then switches and gets a couple points with the white tape, and so on. In the first 10 minutes of Game 2, he had the collision with Jamie Benn, then fell into the boards. Then on the power play he turns three pucks over -- two bad passes cross ice, then one goes off the skate in the middle and down -- and those are situations for guys who do that to switch the tape. A guy like that probably thinks it's the tape that's giving him a bad omen. He's so in his head about it.

"I was hoping one of his teammates got to him and told him, 'Stop worrying about your tape, you're leading the playoffs in scoring!' That's what I would have told him, if I were his teammate. 'Just play hockey, stop doing that to yourself.'

"But then, he actually didn't switch it after the first 10 minutes in Game 2. He went out there [with the same tape job] and they scored on the power play. Maybe he finally got the message."

What's going on with Tyler Seguin?

"I think [Alexander] Radulov and Benn should be together. Obviously [Radek] Faksa is hurt, but I'd rather have Faksa there than Seguin. Because Seguin, to me, isn't doing enough. Everyone's talking about how he's skating fast and skating hard, but skating fast and skating hard and being engaged are different things. I've played with a lot of guys who have skated fast and skated hard, but they're also engaged, meaning they're in battles and they're creating stuff for their teammates. I don't see Seguin as fully engaged, and I wonder if he's hurt. He might be hurt right now and he's scared to get fully engaged, get in battles, fight for puck possession and stuff like that.

"I love Benn and Radulov together, because they play so well, but I would like a fully healthy Seguin there, or someone else who would add a little more jam to that line. Because Benn plays with jam, Radulov does too. And their centerman needs to play good defensively to get the pucks to those guys. Seguin, when he's fully at it and fully engaged, he can do it. But at the moment, he's not. So I would like to see someone else there, or if Seguin could get a little more engaged defensively, it might drive his offensive play."

The impact of a potential Steven Stamkos return

"Before the last game, when the Tampa Bay power play was horrible -- they weren't doing any low plays, they were all up top -- I would have liked to have seen a righty doing one-timers. Even if Stamkos isn't 100%, he could still stand there and shoot on the power play and be effective.

"As for 5-on-5 play, I would worry about him, especially in the center role. Conditioning is a big thing, but timing even more than conditioning because these guys have been playing for two and a half months now, and their timing is key.

"Conditioning is big in the sense that top players take long shifts. Top players generally create offense in the last 20-30% of their shifts, because they're generally holding on to pucks and creating plays in that time frame, when they've worn down the opponent. So if their conditioning and timing isn't up to par, it's really hard to extend a shift and create offense in that last 20-30% of their time on ice in shifts. So that's where it worries me a bit.

"On the power play, there's not as much skating and battling, so he wouldn't have to worry about it."

A little appreciation for Captain America

"I want to talk about Joe Pavelski. He can't skate fast, right? He's not as fast as the other guys, but he can still skate. He's sturdy on his skates, meaning he can battle and stay on his edges really well. But his instincts are just out of this world. He reads pucks, and picks pucks off in the neutral zone, and takes them back on offense. He's not going to get to an area to make a pass, but he already knows where a guy is going, so he'll pick it off and make his play right away. So that frees him up room because the play has been made so fast.

"And also, to get pucks and tip pucks on net, from the high slot in front of the net, it's incredible stuff. If you're watching, you're like: 'This guy can't play in the NHL the way he skates right now,' right? But his instincts are the best in the NHL all over the ice. It's impressive."

Why I loved the Barclay Goodrow trade

"Barclay Goodrow is the guy I like on Tampa Bay, because I didn't know he was as skilled as he was -- and I've actually skated with him in the summertime. He can skate well and he's been playing some plays at a higher skill level than I thought he had. He's also taking a lot of faceoffs too, as a winger. I know he plays center too, but he's playing a majority at wing, and he's just been really impressive to me in all facets of his game. He's been a big addition for Tampa Bay.

"And it was a gutsy move to get him, trading a first-round pick. But if you're picking at 30, 31, those players generally don't pan out as well as you thought they would. So when it comes to first-rounders, you've got to covet them ... to an extent. But if you have a team that can win, you've got to trade that late first-rounder. Your second-rounder has just as much opportunity to turn out.

"Also, I'm sick and tired of the NHL always being a development league. It's a win-now league. These are a couple billion-dollar franchises, or at the very least a few hundred million. Stop using your NHL team for development; if you're a winning team, stop worrying about your 25th overall pick. Try to win the Stanley Cup. It should be a win-now league; that's why fans pay $500, $600, $700 to go to a game. You should try to win.

"I also wish GMs would start making calls on RFAs, start making other GMs to have to make tough decisions. Stop being buddy-buddy; enough buddy-buddy. If Jonathan Toews was the GM in Chicago one day, and I'm the GM in, say, Minnesota, I'm going after his top RFAs, and I don't care. Even if it's one of my best friends in the game, I'm going after him. That's what I want to see more of in this league."

How Tampa made adjustments to win Game 2

"In the first game, the Stars were really pushing the Lightning defense to make mistakes. Tampa Bay's D, they don't like to rim pucks too much or throw pucks away. They like to make plays. The Dallas forwards were really pressuring the Tampa Bay D to give up the puck. Tampa Bay doesn't like to make the simple play, though they do it better than they did last year. But that's why Dallas dominated in Game 1. The Lightning D were turning pucks over.

"There is a weakside play when you're trying to get away from pressure, where you go from D to D, and you let the puck keep going around the board to the forwards. What that's doing is bypassing two players with the puck, without having to make a play really. So you saw Tampa Bay do some plays like that to bypass pressure in Game 2. And also, they scored early, they got confident on the power play, because they actually did their first low play in like a month. [Alex] Killorn took it to the net, and that started putting stuff in Dallas' brains, like 'maybe they will take it to the net now.' Then they moved the puck up top and cross ice on a bumper play; sometimes that confusion can cause those plays to open up. All in all, Dallas was on their heels in Game 2, especially after that goal because Tampa Bay's confidence grew and they did the things they didn't do in the past, which got Dallas thinking about it."

"In order to break their 0-for-14 power-play slump, Palat went on the point on the other side; usually Mikhail Sergachev is there. I felt Sergachev was a little too stagnant there. He would shoot sometimes, but he was really trying to force passes to Kucherov. For me, I wanted a righty to go there, because they weren't using any low plays. If they're only going to keep the puck up top, they might as well shoot it.

"The good thing Palat does better than Sergachev there is he drags that forward and gets him to put his stick on the inside of the ice. Palat will not pass it to Kucherov. He goes behind his back or will do a subtle forehand pass to Hedman. And what that does is it gets the middle forechecker to come up. And that is where Hedman will fake the shot, then go over to Kucherov. Now two guys are caught out of position, and that's when Kucherov can either go cross ice back to Palat, or he can bump it into the middle to Brayden Point, where Point has scored that goal.

"So Palat was giving a little more of a simpler look, but one that would drag that forward a little out of position on the strong side, the guy that's supposed to be checking Palat on the penalty kill. So these were simpler plays, but high-skill plays, that freed up Kucherov to do a little bit more."

A young hockey player's first out-of-town tournament is in many ways a rite of passage in the sport. It means the first time seeing players from other parts of the country or world and gauging where one's game stands against that of peers. It's hours on end at the rinks, parents nursing weak coffee in frigid bleachers, knee hockey in the hotel hallway, a whole lot of pizza, pool parties, bewildered hotel guests wondering where all these rowdy children came from and an exasperated staff that has all but given up on containing them.

As the years go on, the tournaments get more serious, and the stakes get higher. In Edmonton, the NHL is about to cap off its adult version of a seemingly never-ending hockey tournament. It has been more than 80 days in the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs bubble for members of the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, marching their way to the 2020 final.

Most players these teams have never won the Cup, but every single one of them has dreamed of it. It was in those youth hockey tournaments that many of those dreams were born, with days and nights spent around teammates, hoping that the tournaments would never end. In light of that, perhaps it's fitting that the NHL's bubble is in Edmonton to close out the season. The city also plays host to the Brick Invitational Tournament, one of the most famous youth hockey tournaments in North America and the epicenter of hockey in the summer months.

An Edmonton beginning

For one week each year, some of the best 10-year-old hockey players in North America converge on an ice rink under a domed ceiling inside the sprawling West Edmonton Mall, 20 minutes southwest of Rogers Place. Founded in 1990, the Brick has seen more than 200 alumni reach the NHL. In fact, eight players on the playoff rosters of the teams in the final, including four regulars, played in the Brick as 10-year-olds. Lightning forwards Tyler Johnson and Brayden Point are both past Brick champions. In all, about 90 players who participated in the Brick tournament played in the NHL's postseason bubble at some point this season.

Craig Styles, the tournament chairman, has been there from the very beginning and has been overwhelmed by the success of the tournament. "It's exciting to see the names that come up every draft year, but for me, it's really the respect and citizenship that happens at the tournament," he said. "I see the kids competing, but they high-five each other walking in the retail center, then they all get together at the end of the tournament and trade sweaters and pins, and they keep these relationships going."

The Eastern Conference finals, in particular, provided a bit of a Brick reunion of sorts. Tampa Bay's Johnson went head-to-head with New York Islanders forward Jordan Eberle; the duo were teammates at the Brick in 2000. Their Vancouver Vipers squad beat a team of Toronto-based superstars led by Johnson's eventual Lightning teammate Steven Stamkos. Then Point captained Team Brick, the tournament's official host team, to the 2006 title. A year later, Isles center Mathew Barzal led his Brick team to a title and earned tournament MVP honors.

"It was a great experience and one of my fondest memories growing up playing hockey as a kid," Johnson recently told The Edmonton Sun. "The tournament had lots of great skill and was very well organized. I remember hanging out at West Edmonton Mall for a full week. It was lots of fun."

Eberle and Johnson scored some big goals in their Brick tournament, and Eberle scored the overtime game winner to take the tournament title 20 years before he netted an OT winner to extend the series in last week's Eastern Conference finals Game 5.

Intro to bubble life

Once Brick teams arrive at the tournament each year, Styles notes that players and families don't have much need to leave the West Edmonton Mall, the largest mall in North America.

"The very first year, we called it 'a tournament for the whole family,'" Styles said. "To me, it was about a hockey experience, but it was an experience that took grandma and grandpa, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters and got them out of the cold rinks in winter and put them in one of the most amazing structures in the world. A lot of families never stepped foot outside the mall for those seven days, and I know that for a fact."

Beyond the 800-plus stores and pair of hotels, the mall includes a 24-hour gym and a miniature golf course. The tournament often partners with mall entities, including a large waterpark and amusement park attached to the structure. It isn't uncommon to see players battling on the ice one moment and racing down the waterslides the next, according to Styles.

Interactions with opposing players are a little more awkward at the NHL level, but that's one of the youth tournament aspects that many players have noted as a similarity.

"The bubble is so small that you're going to run into other people from other teams, players, coaches, management. It's unavoidable," Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk said earlier in the playoffs. "Everyone wants to go watch each other's games, too. It's literally a youth hockey tournament. It's pretty cool actually."

At a youth hockey tournament, games can take a bit of a backseat to hoarding the sweetest offerings of the continental breakfast, hours on end at arcades, jumping in the pool over and over, and testing the limits of the hotel's noise policy. For NHL players, the grown-up version of the youth tournament lifestyle has included some of the old staples from their younger days, such as pingpong, video game tournaments and movie nights. The Vegas Golden Knights' famed "Fun Committee" played the role often reserved for the "cool dads" on the youth circuit, finding fun things for players to do.

That's where there's a big difference between the NHL's playoff bubble and the youth tournaments of yesteryear. The games are obviously the highlight of the day, and players have lamented not being able to have their families with them for this experience. Several players told ESPN that the distance has been noticeable. As Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski explored, the entertainment and accommodations that the NHL provided were "not as advertised," according to a Western Conference player, and "oversold," per another.

Although the lack of family time has been a struggle, the ties that bind teams are stronger through this shared experience.

"We've been here for so long. We've all kind of been into the routine that we're in. There aren't a whole lot of options for entertainment, so we've really bonded as a team, just being around each other in the lounge, playing cards, hanging out, eating meals together," Dallas Stars forward Blake Comeau said. "I guess you can kind of look at it in a way as when you're younger. Going to tournaments, being in the hotel, playing mini sticks in the hallway -- obviously, we're not doing that. But you are spending a lot of time together as a team. Really bonded. Really grown. I think that's a big reason why we've put ourselves in this opportunity to win the Stanley Cup."

The Brick today

Like so many things this year, the 2020 Brick Invitational was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, marking the first summer without the tournament since it began 30 years ago. Styles has worked with the tournament committee to create another opportunity for the kids who were supposed to travel to Edmonton for this year's event: a second tournament in 2021 exclusively for those 11-year-olds, in addition to holding the Brick for the 10-year-olds at its regularly scheduled time next summer.

Hockey tournaments across North America are scarce in general this year, as many wait until it is deemed safer to travel. Some local governments are not allowing any contact sports until the COVID-19 pandemic is more under control, which puts hockey in the crosshairs. Some teams will have to decide if it's worth going to places that have less stringent rules but higher virus rates in order to get on the ice. That's not to mention the number of players who might not be able to play because of financial constraints caused by the pandemic.

For now, young players can watch and live vicariously through their NHL heroes. Likewise, NHL players might have younger versions of themselves in the backs of their heads. They know how long they have dreamed of this opportunity. At this stage of the game, the players have one-track minds.

"I think reflection a lot of times happens in those days and weeks after a season is over," said Stars forward Tyler Seguin, a 2002 Brick Tournament participant. "If you start reflecting now or start thinking ahead, you're going to miss that opportunity and that window of what this moment is."

After all, the fondest tournament memories are usually from the ones you win.

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski contributed to this story.