Hockey Alberta Ready for Team Alberta Summer Development Camps

RED DEER – Hockey Alberta is ready to host players from across the province at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre in Red Deer for the 2021 Team Alberta Summer Development Camps, fuelled by Gatorade. Team Alberta camps will span from July 26 – August 15.

The Team Alberta U16 Female Skill Development Camp runs from July 26-29. Focusing on position-specific skills, each position will participate in four on-ice sessions over two days.

Following the female camp, the Team Alberta U16 Male Summer Camp will take place August 3-8. There will be three, two-day camps broken up by region (South Region August 3-4, Central Region August 5-6 and North Region August 7-8). The camp is the first step in the identification process for the WHL Cup, slated for October of 2021. A selection camp will be held September 17-19.

The Team Alberta U18 Female Summer Camp is scheduled to run from August 13-15, rounding out the trio of development camps. Players will participate in three on-ice sessions and an additional goaltender session. The U18 Female Fall Camp is planned for September 24-26, where players will be identified for the 2021 National Women’s U18 Championship set for November in Dawson Creek, B.C.

Registration for the U16 and U18 camps was open to players from Alberta registered in a Hockey Alberta/Hockey Canada sanctioned program in the 2020-21 season. The U16 camps feature players born in 2006, while the U18 camp was open to 2004 and 2005 born players.

Coaches will also be in Red Deer on August 20-22 to complete the National Coaching Certification Program High Performance 1 (HP1) certification. All head coaches coaching U15 AAA, U16 AAA, U18 AAA, Junior A and Canadian Sport Schools Hockey League teams must be HP1 certified.

Other Hockey Alberta camps happening throughout the province include:

• Team Alberta Elite Development Camp, Sherwood Park – Aug. 3-6
• Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey School – Aug. 3-6
• Team Alberta Elite Development Camp, Calgary – Aug. 9-12
• Summer Prep, Grande Prairie – Aug. 9-13
• Super Skills, Calgary – Aug. 9-13
• Checking Skills, Lloydminster – Aug. 9-12
• Female Skills Camp, Calgary – Aug. 13-15
• Summer Weekend Camp, Calgary – Aug. 21-22
• Summer Weekend Camp, Calgary – Sept. 4-5

For more information on upcoming Hockey Alberta camps, visit hockeyalberta.ca.

RED DEER - It was a banner year for Alberta at the 2021 NHL Draft, with 17 Albertans drafted to 13 different teams.

After three Albertans were selected in round one of the draft on Friday night, 11 more were drafted in rounds two through seven on Saturday.

Saturday’s portion of the draft saw a pair of Albertans drafted to the teams their older brothers currently play for, as Colton Dach will join older brother Kirby with the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Colorado Avalanche selected Taylor Makar, the younger brother of defenceman Cale.

The 17 Albertans drafted hail from nine different Minor Hockey Associations, 16 are alumni of the Alberta Elite Hockey League, and nine played for Team Alberta.

A full list of Albertans drafted can be found below:

RED DEER - Three Albertans heard their names called and had their dreams realized during the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft on Friday evening.

The first round of the draft, which was done virtually for the second straight year, saw three athletes from Alberta drafted, including Dylan Guenther, who was the first Albertan selected when the Arizona Coyotes selected him ninth overall.

Guenther’s Edmonton Oil Kings teammate Sebastian Cossa was the next Albertan to go, and was the first goaltender off the board as the Detroit Red Wings traded up to select him 15th overall.

Brooks Bandits defenceman Corson Ceulemans was the third and final Albertan selected in the first round, going to the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 25th pick.

All three players are Alberta Elite Hockey League alumni, and also all suited up for Team Alberta (Cossa at the 2017 WHL Cup, Ceulemans and Guenther at the 2019 Canada Winter Games).

Rounds two through seven of the 2021 NHL Draft will conclude on Saturday.

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta will conduct a U11 AA Pilot Project in the 2021-22 season that implements an amended regional hosting structure, player movement rules, league schedule and coach and player development standards. This pilot project is based largely off of the final report and recommendations of the Non-Sanctioned Hockey Workgroup of last season.

We will be working in collaboration with the Northern Alberta Interlock League (Host League), the North East Alberta Hockey League, the All Peace Hockey League and, of course, their member MHA’s. We are looking to create a series of actionable recommendations that will be identified in time for implementation of a new, province wide, U11 model in the 2022-2023 season.

The outcome of this pilot is to identify the best overall structure for the top level of U11 and to ensure alignment and progression within the entire hockey system. The principles of Long-Term Athlete Development and Hockey Canada’s U11 Pathway will be adhered to within all recommendations. The best philosophy for developing players is to create an environment where similarly skilled players can compete together and against each other.

To make it fair and equitable for all teams within the pilot, regions have been established. These regions ensure there is an opportunity for all players that reside within the pilot areas that want to play and have the skill to play at the top level of U11, can. These regions largely follow the U13AA recruitment areas. The established regions allow for the progression of players from Tiered Minor Hockey programs, through to the host programs within this pilot.

Hockey Alberta has established a Workgroup for this U11AA Pilot Project, members include:

Brett Kelly – Hockey Alberta Staff, Innisfail, AB

Mike Applegate – Hockey Alberta Staff, Lloydminster, AB

Hudson Kelly – Hockey Alberta Staff, Red Deer, AB

Randy Mak – NAI Liaison, Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Rick Nordstrom – Grande Prairie, AB

Jason Grinevitch – Bonnyville, AB

If you have any questions, please contact Brett Kelly, Manager, Officiating at [email protected]

Grant MacEwan University has developed the “Grow the Game” initiative for online anti-racism resources for hockey. The goal of the project is to fill the gap around racism information, education, awareness and its impact on those in the hockey community, both on and off the ice.

Federally funded by the Canada Heritage Anti-Racism Program, Grow the Game was created by Alim Tharani and Irfan Chaudhry as a virtual summit in December 2020. The summit featured a diverse line-up of experts to speak on a variety of different racial experiences in hockey including: the impact, anti-racism, unconscious bias and barriers in addressing racial discrimination.

“The biggest thing that we heard from people is just having a baseline of what racism is and how it manifests in the sport of hockey; and what can be done about it,” said Chaudhry. “People don’t know where to turn or what to do and then it (racism) often times does not get addressed in a meaningful way.”

Grow the Game resources are available online. To begin the education process, there is a “Starter Kit” available with definitions, articles and videos to highlight the impact of racial discrimination in hockey. As well, the website includes recordings of the discussions at the virtual summit in December.

For more information on Grow the Game, visit growthegame.hockey or contact Tharani and Chaudhry by clicking here.