Lethbridge to Host 2011 Alberta Cup

Hockey Alberta officially announced Wednesday that Lethbridge, Alberta will host the 2011 Alberta Cup. The Lethbridge hosting group is made up of Lethbridge Minor Hockey Association, Lethbridge Hurricanes and the University of Lethbridge Alumni Hockey Association. The Alberta Cup will take place at the Nicholas Sheran Arena, April 13-17, 2011. The theme of this year’s event will be “Celebrating 25 Years of the Alberta Cup.”

“The opportunity to showcase the best players in the province in any age group is always special, but these players are also Alberta's best WHL draft eligible players. This makes the event even more special for the community,” said Alberta Cup Host Committee Chairman, Bob Bartlett. “We look forward to welcoming all the out-of-town guests to our community and we hope to provide a prestigious and memorable experience for everyone involved in the event.”

The Alberta Cup is the premier hockey event in the province that helps identify the top male bantam aged players from each zone in Alberta. It is well attended by scouts as they prepare for the Western Hockey League’s bantam draft. In addition to player evaluations, the competition is also an opportunity for administrators, coaches, trainers and referees to be evaluated for future positions within the Team Alberta U16 and U17 Programs.

“Lethbridge is the perfect community to host the 2011 Alberta Cup,” said Hockey Alberta’s President, Annie Orton. “There are very strong ties to Hockey Alberta in Lethbridge with our new Regional Centre. The host as put together a very committed and experienced committee that will ensure the success of the event.”

This will be the second time the Alberta Cup has visited Lethbridge as they also hosted the event in 2002.

Hockey Alberta is proud to have the Western Hockey league, Reebok/CCM, Source for Sports and Alberta Sport, Receration, Parks and Wildlife Foundation as event sponsors.

The Alberta Cup began back in 1986 as a program for midget hockey players. It was held again in 1987 and 1988 then disappeared until 1993 when it re-emerged as a bantam level competition. The Alberta Cup aids in the preparation, evaluation and identification of potential players for Hockey Alberta’s Team Alberta Program.

Former Alberta Cup graduates include such players as Zach Boychuk, Kyle Brodziak, Dany Heatley, Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf, Scott Hartnell, Jordin Tootoo, Devin Setoguchi, Andrew Ferrence and Chris Phillips.

Submitted by Ryan Ohashi, Hurricanes Director of Communications

Thanks.

Pat

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