It was a bittersweet game for Quinton Hughes.

The Mississauga-raised defenceman was sad to play his last minor hockey game Friday with the Toronto Marlies and the fact that he was leaving the team just as it was building momentum at the Ontario Hockey League Showcase Cup didn't make it any easier for him.

After the Marlies came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Ottawa Jr. 67's 6-2 at Buckingham Arena in Toronto, Hughes left for Ann Arbor, Michigan to attend the United States National Team Development Program camp in the hopes of making it onto the team for next season.

"I'm disappointed I can't be here with my teammates," said Hughes, who scored Toronto's first goal against Ottawa on an end-to-end rush to start the rally. "It's really emotional, but I'm also excited to start a new chapter in my life."

Hughes was born in Orlando in 1999 and moved to Boston at a young age after his father Jim, now director of player development with the Toronto Maple Leafs, took an assistant coaching position with the Boston Bruins. The family moved to Mississauga when Quinton was six.

A 5-foot-8 defenceman who likes to model his game after Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, Hughes said he wouldn't be the player he is today without his dad's guidance.

He will be the only Ontario-based skater out of 50 players in attendance at the U.S. camp.

"(The team) is something I've wanted to make for a while," Hughes said. "It's such a big thing to represent your country and I can't wait to put the American jersey on."

The Marlies managed to succeed without Hughes on Saturday, winning both of their playoff games to move on to tomorrow night's OHL Cup final at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in downtown Toronto.

They will face the Don Mills Flyers, the same team they defeated last week in the Greater Toronto Hockey League final.