Both bantam and atom rep hockey teams were on the ice at the same time, Monday, for the first annual Mustangs Mentor Day.

The purpose of the event was to allow the atom team an opportunity to experience a high tempo practice with the older bantam squad, while being guided by both coaches and Bantam players alike.

'The kids had a great time,' said atom's co-coach Mike Snow. 'It's not every day that they get a chance to come out and play against the bigger kids, so it was good for them to see what the next level brings and what they had to do in order to compete at the next level.'

The practice ran for more than an hour and it featured a series of drills that put emphasis on the basics, such as passing, shooting, breakaways as well as skating. One drill saw a bantam player team up with one of the atoms and, from across the rink, one of the players would attempt to make a long cross-ice pass while the other was skating hard toward the centre line.

The goalies also got involved and went over techniques including moving quickly from one end of the crease to the other in order to make a save as well as different approaches on how to deal with a breakaway.

The practice ended with a four-on-four mixed game scenario between both teams, which seemed to be very popular with all of the players involved. Players would alternate every time the whistle was blown and even the atom goalies got a turn in net.

Snow said there are a lot of advantages to holding this type of event.

'I'm a firm believer in taking our young kids and actually showing them what our bantam and midget players do here and it gives them something to strive for and it shows the dedication and work ethic that these young gentleman, the midgets and the bantam team, with their five and six practices a week to try and stay competitive to go play outside of Whitehorse,' he said. 'So it is definitely a good thing.'

He said being able to practice with the bantams' meant a lot to his players.

'I think the kids here in Whitehorse, being such a small community, they get to know a lot of people outside of the game and they watch them in the rinks,' Snow said. 'So I think getting to see the live hockey and see these guys compete against other teams makes it a little bit more special for them when they're actually out on the ice and they can be one-on-one with these guys and ask them questions.'

Alex Hanson is the captain of the atom rep team. He said he enjoyed taking part in mentor day.

'I liked it a lot because we got to play with the bantams' and they're pretty good so we learned some stuff,' Hanson said. 'They helped us a lot with figuring out the drills.'

Hanson said he is a better player after practicing with the bantams'.

'I think I got better at passing in front because they're (the bantams') faster, so I got better at that,' he said. 'It was a lot of fun and I hope we do it again.

Chris Vance is the captain of the Bantam Mustangs. He also liked participating in mentor day.

'It was fun playing with the little atoms and teaching them how to pass and how to do the drills,' he said.

Vance enjoyed being a mentor and said he wishes it was offered when he was playing in the atom league.