Future hockey stars to play in Strathmore
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
Rob Litwinski, General Manager for Hockey Alberta, officially announced that Strathmore Minor Hockey and the Town had won the bid to host the 2013 and 2014 Alberta Cup.
“We don’t leave the bids out and just kind of look at them and make a quick decision. We always have interaction with the communities,” said Litwinski during the Aug. 28 announcement.
“In this case we felt that of the bids made, Strathmore was the place to be for the next two years.”
The Alberta Cup is a premier hockey bantam hockey event, focused on players aged 14. It’s a well-scouted event, with estimates coming in that there will be 150 scouts with many coming from the Western Hockey League (WHL). The competition also provides an opportunity for administrators, coaches, trainers and referees to be evaluated for future positions within the Team Alberta U16 Provincial Team. The provincial team will also compete in the U16 Western Canada Challenge Cup in 2014, and eventually leads into the Team Pacific U17 program.
“It’s going to be huge. We really think it’s going to go a long way to showcase Strathmore, to show that we are a real destination. People have always known that Strathmore is very good in sports, but now we can showcase our town, and the facilities that we have and have improved on. I think it’s going to be great for the town,” said Town Councillor Pat Fule.
“This is amazing for our town and amazing that minor hockey and Strathmore have worked so hard to make this bid come true. When they brought it forward to council we were just so impressed that they were willing to put all the work into bringing an event like this Alberta Cup to our town.”
Fule feels this is going to send a message to younger hockey players, letting them know if they work hard then they too could one day play in the Alberta Cup.
Work has already begun to prepare for the 2013 Alberta Cup, which will be held in April, and there is still plenty more to go.
“In total we’re probably going to have a major committee of twelve people which will branch off and work outside of that. We’re expecting to need close to 90 volunteers to make this event happen,” said Strathmore Minor Hockey President Wayne Hansen.
“We’re absolutely ecstatic, I mean this is just being announced today but in the rumour mill you know with it being out there that we were bidding on it, we’ve had tons of response from people that are more than interested in being involved. We’re excited.
“These are the top 14-year-olds that the province of Alberta has to offer. Short of an injury there’s not a kid who won’t be here. As a 14-year-old, this is where you want to be because this is your chance to be seen by the Western Hockey League scouts. If that’s the direction that you’re looking at going … if you want to play junior hockey you need to be here because they need to see you.”
In March the Alberta Cup Program begins with close to 1,000 players trying out in their respective zone camps. Hansen said he would love to see 10 or 12 kids from our draw zone make this team, and said he doesn’t think that would be such a stretch.
Each of the 160 athletes playing in the Alberta Cup will also be competing for one of the 80 invites to the U16 Male Provincial Camp in July.