Ice Hockey and Hurling Swap Revealed for Episode 2 of The Toughest Trade

Wexford Town’s Faythe Harriers are preparing for their first training session with new - albeit temporary - teammate Alex Auld. Delighted to revieal the Canadian ice hockey star as the latest signing for our documentary, The Toughest Trade. Now a coach, Auld will be swapping both the puck and club the Vancouver Canucks with Wexford hurler Lee Chin to see how the life of an amateur GAA player compares to his 12 years as a pro in the National Hockey League.

Auld has arrived in Wexford and will spend a week fully immersing himself in the sport and culture before he plays a challenge game against county champions Oulart the Ballagh. This will be no easy task as the goaltender won’t be used to balancing the demands of training, late night drill sessions and gym work with the added pressure of working for the Chin family business. Some recognisable faces will be offering advice and tips throughout his time here but ultimately only the ash will stand between Auld and the local rivals on Sunday at the match.

Last week Glenswilly’s Michael Murphy spent a week with Champion Cup quarter finalists Clermont Auvergne as part of the our documentary. His episode will also feature former Welsh winger Shane Williams who swapped the oval ball for the round ball earlier in January. Both athletes didn’t look out of place with their new teammates with Murphy being lauded for his speed, agility and catching skills while Williams made a huge contribution during his challenge game against Convoy GAA.

Mark Doyle, our Head of Consumer Marketing said, “We initially came up with the concept of The Toughest Trade as we believe that GAA club players are among the toughest athletes in the world. 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.”

Doyle continued, “Now we’re really excited to see how Alex and Lee get on here and in Vancouver.”

This is our third season producing The Toughest Trade as part of its #TheToughest campaign. In 2016 the documentary featured Tipperary’s Brendan Maher who went Down Under to play cricket with the Adelaide Strikers while Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea travelled to the US to participate in an NFL combine.

All previous episodes of The Toughest Trade are free to view on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/aib