The Richmond Olympic Oval-based Greater Vancouver Canadians are among 12 teams invited to the first-ever WHL U.S. Challenge Cup — Feb. 20-23 in Kent, WA.
The inaugural edition of the tournament will feature 12 of the top-ranked Bantam teams from the Western United States and Canada.
Beginning on Friday, Feb. 21 each team will play a three-game round-robin schedule, with games hosted at the accesso ShoWare Center – home of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds – and the Kent Valley Ice Centre.
Teams will be ranked from first to 12th, setting the stage for final placement games on Sunday, Feb. 23.
The Canadians are enjoying an impressive season too in the inaugural BC Hockey Major Bantam Zone League with an 18-2-0-0 record under coach Adam Nugent-Hopkins.
Earlier this month they attended the prestigious John Reid Memorial Bantam Tournament in St. Albert.
Other participating teams at the WHL U.S. Challenge Cup include: Delta Hockey Academy top Bantam Green Prep team — coached by Richmond’s Milan Dragicevic. DHA captured bronze at the John Reid tourney and own a 19-1-1 record in Canadian School Sport Hockey League regular season play.
The Dallas Stars Elite ’05, Los Angeles Junior Kings, Okanagan Rockets, Phoenix Junior Coyotes, San Diego Saints, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Junior 14U Admirals and Team Alaska round out the entries.
