The Innisfail Arena was transformed into a venue of future hockey superstars last week.
On Dec. 13 the Arena was a stop for the Hockey Alberta World Hockey Tour, which is crisscrossing the province as part of the pre-celebrations for the 36th World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (WJHC). The tour was an opportunity for local Alberta minor hockey associations to be part of the world junior championship in their own communities.
The WJHC tournament is being held in Calgary and Edmonton from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.
In the meantime, the Hockey Alberta tour is visiting 14 communities before the tournament, 12 of them outside Calgary and Edmonton. Innisfail was the seventh stop.
The Innisfail stop had 110 young hockey players from atom and novice leagues, mostly from town but also included players from Eckville, Bowden, Sundre, Caroline and Sylvan Lake.
Tracey Walker, executive director for the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association, said the event could have easily attracted more participants but the final number was capped by Hockey Alberta.
She said the two-hour event at the Arena was an “overwhelming” success with both hockey players and fans, friends and family members.
“It was amazing, overwhelmingly successful,” said Walker, the lead organizer of the Innisfail stop. “They (players) were awesome. The experience of playing for participating countries was quite something for them.
“Our stands at the Arena were jam packed,” said Walker of the excitement generated by the event. “We had grandmas, grandpas, parents and siblings. It was standing room only.”
She said the young hockey players were divided up into 10 teams representing the 10 countries participating in the WJHC tournament - Canada, USA, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Latvia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Russia. There were a total of 15 games. Each game was 15 minutes in duration. During play each team was allowed four players on the ice.
All players received a team jersey of the country he or she represented.
“Each team had a variety of skill levels as the ages of players spanned four years,” said Walker, adding it was a thrill for the young players to feel a part of the WJHC tournament that will feature the very best junior hockey players in the world.
“Many of them won’t be able to attend the tournament,” said Walker. “This was an excellent opportunity for them to connect with the world championships. It was important they had this opportunity.”
The young hockey players we allowed to keep their jerseys. They were also given a commemorative program, a miniature stick, puck and tour pin.
Hockey Alberta also brought along a replica Team Canada locker room that provided an interesting backdrop for photos of the players, hockey fans and families who attended the event.
The tour will go through Olds Dec. 20, the second last stop before the tournament begins Dec. 26.
