Mail-out Goes To Over 29,000 MHA Players

Hockey Alberta, in partnership with Hockey Canada, announced that a special and personalized 2011 Hockey Canada season planner and a Hockey Alberta Play SMART Parents Handbook has been mailed to over 29,000 minor hockey players across Alberta. The content is also being made available online at www.HockeyCanada.ca.

“We are very pleased once again to have this opportunity to connect with parents and young players across the province,” said Hockey Alberta President, Annie Orton. “It’s important for our membership to realize they are all part of the same team, Team Canada.”

This is the fourth-straight year that Hockey Canada and its 13 member branches are connecting with their grassroots membership by mailing out personalized packages to hundreds of thousands of children who are taking to the ice across the country. This year, more than 235,000 children, all Hockey Canada members, will receive a personalized and bilingual 2011 Hockey Canada season planner, along with collectable items.

The general public will be able to download this bilingual version of the season planner at www.HockeyCanada.ca, and will be able to download the planner in additional versions in 12 other languages early next week (Arabic, Cantonese, Cree, German, Inuktitut, Italian, Mandarin, Ojibwe, Portuguese, Punjabi, Tagalog, Spanish). This new initiative is part of Hockey Canada’s overall priority of recruitment and retention to help grow the game of hockey in Canada.

“We are very excited to be partnering with the 13 regional hockey branches in Canada to send this very special package to minor hockey players in Canada under 10 years old,” said Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson. “We are especially pleased this year to be offering the season planner in languages besides English and French, as we continue to introduce hockey to all Canadians.”

“When these young players watch other players represent Canada at the international level, they should remember that they are part of the same team as them - the Hockey Canada team.,” said Ken Corbett, chair of the Hockey Canada Board of Directors.

In total, there are more than 550,000 children who are registered in hockey through Hockey Canada’s 13 member branches and its member minor hockey associations. These young players benefit in many ways by participating in the sport, from having fun and building friendships to learning lessons about confidence, fair play, good sportsmanship and teamwork.

Hockey Canada has developed this special mail-out for children with the help of all 13 regional branches to communicate with the base of its membership and remind minor hockey players that they are an important part of Hockey Canada.

The Hockey Canada package for minor hockey players in Alberta includes:

• A Hockey Alberta PlaySMART Parents Handbook with information on Respect in Sport, Diet and long term athlete development
• A Hockey Alberta sticker booklet
• A personalized Hockey Canada season planner featuring fun hockey-related activities and comic strips featuring Hockey Canada’s official mascot, Puckster
• A collectable Puckster pin
• Team Canada and Canadian NHL team stickers

Hockey Canada, in partnership with its 13 member branches, has also launched an interactive website where anyone can play a virtual game with Team Canada. The website, www.MyHockeyCanada.ca, allows users to register and watch as they go from playing minor hockey right through an opportunity to play for Team Canada.

It may still be hockey, but for one Albertan official, traveling across the country to participate in an officiating exchange program will be a taste of something totally new.

20-year-old referee, Lucas Martin-Hudec, has been selected by Hockey Alberta to head to Ontario for a one week shift with the Ottawa and District Hockey Association, February 19-26, 2011.

“This experience will be very beneficial as I will learn new things that I can bring back to Alberta and use when I work here. I hope to be able to share things with my fellow officials and to continue to better myself,” said Martin-Hudec. “It is going to be great to meet other officials and see how other associations work. I hope this opportunity will provide me with a better understanding of how to make myself a better official and continue working higher levels of hockey.

“We were looking for a travel opportunity for our award winner at the Development Camp this past summer,” said Hockey Alberta’s Referee-in-Chief, Curtis Nichols. “Lucas is well deserving of this opportunity and we know he will be a great representative of our branch.”

Martin-Hudec will be officiating Junior A and B games as well as a variety of minor hockey matchups.

Martin-Hudec is a native of Redcliff, Alta. where he officiated the first three years of his career. He now resides in Camrose, Alta. and attends the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus. Martin-Hudec has been officiating for six years.

Martin-Hudec isn’t the only Albertan official who will be traveling in February. Hockey Alberta also announced that Derek Zalaski has been selected by Hockey Canada to officiate at the Asian Games January 30 to February 6, 2011 in Kazakhstan.

Hockey Alberta announced Friday the five officials selected to represent the province at the 2011 Canada Winter Games February 11-27 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for these officials and each one is very deserving. They should all be very proud of this accomplishment and Hockey Alberta wishes them the best of luck in Halifax,” said Hockey Alberta’s Referee-in-Chief, Curtis Nichols. 

Male:
Fraser Lawrence – Referee – Edmonton
Scott Fulmer – Linesman – Edmonton
Reid Anderson – Linesman – Calgary

Female:
Lacey Senuk – Referee – St. Albert
Dana Argue – Linesman – Medicine Hat

Male officials were selected by Hockey Alberta’s Referee Council to attend the Officiating Program of Excellence (OPOE). From there, Hockey Canada selected who would officiate at the Canada Winter Games.

On the female side, Officials were nominated by Hockey Alberta’s Referee Council then selected by Hockey Canada.

The Canada Winter Games is similar to the Olympics as it is a multi-sport competition and features a cultural component. The Canada Winter Games occur every four years.Hockey Alberta announced Friday the five officials selected to represent the province at the 2011 Canada Winter Games February 11-27 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce the eight coaching staffs for the 2011 Alberta Cup, April 14-17 at Lethbridge, Alberta.

“We are very fortunate this year to have a great group of keen coaches and team staffs,” said Hockey Alberta’s High Performance Coach Mentor, Barry Medori. “The Alberta Cup will challenge these coaches to succeed in a short-term competition setting while developing their approach and knowledge of hockey behind the bench and in the dressing room.”

The staff from each of the eight zone teams - South, Calgary North, Calgary South, Central, Edmonton North, Edmonton South, Northeast and Northwest -  is made up of six positions; Director of Operations, Coach Mentor, Head Coach, two assistant coaches and one trainer.
CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF ALBERTA CUP COACHING STAFFS 

Each team staff member undergoes an application process to obtain their particular position. Prior experience, certification and Team Alberta program involvement are all taken into consideration.  

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.

The 2011 Alberta Cup Host Committee is comprised of three groups; Lethbridge Minor Hockey Association, Lethbridge Hurricanes and University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Hockey Alumni Association. Hockey Alberta is also proud to have the Western Hockey League, Reebok/CCM, Source for Sports and Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation as event sponsors.


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.

Hockey Alberta has announced the six Alberta communities selected to receive funding through its Every Kid Every Community Project to get more children involved in hockey. A total of $20,000 is getting awarded through this year’s funding.

“Our goal is to empower and challenge communities across the province to identify their local needs and come up with a creative way to engage their youth in hockey,” said Hockey Alberta’s Senior Manager of Business Development, Scott Robinson. “Each community proposed to us how much money they would need to facilitate their program. We were very pleased with the responses and we look forward to watching these programs come to life.”

“In the inner city, there are many families who cannot afford to register their kids in minor hockey or other organized sports, so the big goal of this program for us is to make organized hockey accessible to every kid who wants to play while providing them with a positive, healthy experience,” said David Prodan, program manager, E4C. “Focusing on long term sustainability, we will utilize the grant to develop partnerships with other agencies and community volunteers to make this a program which can go on for years to come.”

“This grant will provide the opportunity for girls to try hockey in Vegreville in a fun, non competitive environment,” said Greg Senko, Vegreville Minor Hockey. “If successful, a girl’s hockey program will be started allowing current players to remain in the community and giving new players the opportunity to enjoy the game of hockey.”

The Every Kid Every Community Project was created as a funding based program through Hockey Alberta as a way of getting more kids active in hockey. The percentage of Alberta’s population ages 5-19 that are registered in hockey is 9.6%. This is the third lowest percentage per capita in Canada. Hockey is a great way for kids to be active, healthy, and be surrounded by positive leaders in their community. Hockey Alberta recognizes that the existing minor hockey system doesn’t accommodate the needs of all communities and this program offers an opportunity for groups to create innovative ways to get more kids involved.

WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING:

1. E4C, Edmonton - $5000.00
E4C Edmonton has created a “Hockey for kids” project to introduce hockey to kids in Edmonton inner city neighbourhoods. They are targeting 40 kids ages 5-12 for this project.

2. West Boys and Girls Club, Edmonton – $4500.00
The West Boys and Girls Club of Edmonton have created a shinny hockey program for club kids ages 4-17. This program will align with their existing “Cool Moves” program, promoting healthy and active living.

3. Frog Lake Recreation Committee, Frog Lake – $4500.00
The community of Frog Lake has created an opportunity for their local kids to get involved in hockey and take advantage of their brand new facility.

4. Mundare Minor Hockey Association, Mundare - $3000.00
Mundare Minor Hockey Association has created a “Learn to Skate + Introduction to Hockey” program which is targeting kids of all ages who would like to play hockey but don’t have the basic skating skills.

5. Vegreville Minor Hockey Association, Vegreville - $1800.00
Vegreville Minor Hockey Association has created a “Girls Try Hockey” program to encourage new girls ages 11-16 to get active in the game.

6. Village of Acme, Acme - $1200.00
The Village of Acme has created a supervised shinny hockey program which will target youth in the community and operate once a week. They will promote this new program at their annual sports day.

Funds for Hockey Alberta’s Every Kid Every Community Project have been made available through the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s fundraising efforts and support from ATB Investor Services and Penn West Energy.

Team Pacific is back on the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge podium after a one-year absence, claiming the bronze medal with a 5-4 overtime victory over Quebec.

Bronze Medal Game
Team Pacific (5) Team Quebec (4) (OT)

Brandon Magee was the overtime hero, scoring 1:34 into the extra period to cap off a wild final 21-and-a-half minutes. Felix Girard’s goal at the 1:54 mark of the third period gave Quebec a 3-1 lead, but goals 3:12 apart from Robert Trzonkowski and Mike Winther allowed Pacific to pull even.

Dominic Poulin restored the Quebec lead with a power play marker at 12:54, but tournament all-star Hunter Shinkaruk brought Pacific even again with 3:29 to go, stepping out from behind the net and roofing a shot over the shoulder of Quebec goaltender François Tremblay.

The comeback was nothing new for Pacific, which fought back from a 5-1 late-second-period deficit to force overtime in their semifinal against the United States on Monday, only to fall short in the extra frame.

Magee made sure they would be the ones celebrating on Tuesday, tipping a Joshua Smith pass past Tremblay for the game winner.

Poulin finished with a pair of goals for Quebec, which failed in its attempt to win a medal for the first time since it won gold in 2006 in Regina, Sask. For Pacific, the medal is its eighth, which includes five silvers and three bronze.

In the Gold Medal matchup, Team Ontario won its third gold in four years after defeating Team USA 5-3.