The world鈥檚 top under-17 hockey talent will be making their international playing debuts in 91原创 and Delta this fall.
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID restrictions, Hockey Canada鈥檚 returns Nov. 5-12, with games taking place at the 91原创 Events Centre and North Delta鈥檚 Sungod Arena.
The tournament, which features three Canadian teams and five international squads, is meant to showcase 鈥渢he future stars of the game,鈥� according to the event鈥檚 website.
鈥淭his event is the first step in Hockey Canada鈥檚 Program of Excellence and fans in Metro Vancouver will be able to watch some of the top young players in the world throughout the tournament,鈥� Dean McIntosh, vice-president of events and properties for Hockey Canada, said in a press release Friday officially announcing the LEC and Sungod as this year鈥檚 venues.
Since its inception in 1986 as the Quebec Esso Cup, more than 1,600 NHL draft picks have played in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, including 21 first-round picks: Pierre Turgeon, Mats Sundin, Alexandre Daigle, Bryan Berard, Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, Ilya Kovalchuk, Rick Nash, Marc-Andr茅 Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Eric Johnson, Patrick Kane, John Tavares, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes, Alexis Lafreni猫re and Owen Power.
Ten different countries have competed alongside the Canadian entries over the event鈥檚 history: Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Germany, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Soviet Union, Sweden and the United States.
Participating countries for the 2022 World Under-17 Challenge have yet to be announced.
This year鈥檚 tournament will be the fourth time the event has been held in B.C., but the first time it will be hosted in the Lower Mainland.
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Township of 91原创 Mayor Jack Froese said the community is honoured to have been chosen as one of the tournament鈥檚 hosts, calling it a 鈥渕arquee international event.鈥�
鈥淲e look forward to welcoming many of the top players from around the world as well as all the passionate hockey fans to witness the participating teams chase their dreams of capturing international glory,鈥� Froese said in a press release.
鈥淲hether it is the players or the spectators in attendance, we are sure they will enjoy their experience here at 91原创 Events Centre, a world-class facility that has become one of the province鈥檚 premier destinations for sports, recreation and entertainment.鈥�
Delta Mayor George Harvie said the city is thrilled to be selected to host the best young hockey players from across the globe this November.
鈥淒elta has a long and rich hockey history, from minor hockey to the Vancouver Giants, to being the hometown of Stanley Cup champions,鈥� Harvie said in a press release.
鈥淭he World Under-17 Hockey Challenge continues Delta鈥檚 deep and longstanding relationship with Canada鈥檚 game, and we look forward to welcoming visitors, players, coaches and officials to Delta and, of course, watching the action on the ice.鈥�
Cameron Hope, chief executive officer for BC Hockey, said the organization and its member partners and associations looks forward to working with the event鈥檚 host group 鈥渢o provide grassroots initiatives that will remain in the local communities as a legacy in partnership with this very special international hockey event.鈥�
The 2019 event 鈥� held in Medicine Hat, Alta. and Swift Current, Sask. 鈥� saw the three Canadian teams and one each representing Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and U.S. play 22 games over eight days, with some games broadcast on TSN and others streamed on Hockey Canada鈥檚 website. Russia beat the Americans for gold, while Czech Republic took home bronze.
In early 2020, Hockey Canada was considering a joint bid to host the 2021 event in North Delta, 91原创 and Chilliwack. However, when COVID-19 hit, the pandemic forced the cancellation of that year鈥檚 tournament (scheduled to take place Oct. 31 to Nov. 7 in Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I.) and put future plans on hold.
The event was again cancelled in 2021 and replaced with the one-off Capital City Challenge, a six-day tournament featuring three men鈥檚 U17 teams and Canada鈥檚 national women鈥檚 team that served as part of the latter鈥檚 preparation for the Winter Olympics in Beijing two months later.
On-sale date for the World Under-17 Challenge has not yet been announced, but tickets when they become available can be purchased at .
鈥� with files from Tom Zillich
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