Communities set to celebrate World Girls Ice Hockey Weekend across Alberta

RED DEER - Twenty-five teams and organizations from across the province are set to celebrate the ninth annual World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend.

The International Ice Hockey Federation will lead the way on the ninth year of World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend, with dozens of federations around the world taking part. The goal of this weekend is to have events from coast to coast to coast that recruit, retain and engage female players, coaches, officials and fans – old and new. This event aims to celebrate and grow the female game, and unite Canadians through grassroots programming led by female hockey associations, minor hockey associations and communities.

Since 2011, the IIHF has united countries around the globe for World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend. Over the years, thousands of people have taken part and the celebration continues to grow – click here to see events that have been hosted around the world!

The list of teams and organizations who have organized WGIHW events can be found below:

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is pleased to launch its Parent Engagement Video Series, aimed at helping parents navigate through the ups and downs of being a hockey parent.

Episode One features Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Jordan Eberle of the New York Islanders, and focuses on social media use among young athletes.

Social Media Tips > | Parent Engagement Guide >

Social media has seen a rapid rise in popularity in the last decade, and the average age of first-time users continues to decrease. It’s also become a large part of team culture, which poses many opportunities and risks for both individual players, and the team as a whole.

Parents are encouraged to stay involved and monitor their children’s social media activity, and make sure they are responsible with their own social media use. Any inappropriate or irresponsible use of social media can have negative effects on both the individual, and the team, even if it’s not necessarily hockey-related.

For more information and tips on responsible social media use, head to hockeyalberta.ca.

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce the leadership group for Team Alberta’s U16 Male team for the 2019 WHL Cup in Calgary.

Jordan Gustafson (Fort Saskatchewan) will captain Team Alberta, with defenceman Graydon Gotaas (Camrose) and forwards Nate Danielson (Red Deer) and Rylen Roersma (Lethbridge) serving as Assistant Captains.

The 2019 WHL Cup runs October 23-27 at Winsport’s Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door.

Team Alberta kicks off play round-robin play against Team Manitoba on Wednesday at 6:00pm, with games against Saskatchewan and BC set for Thursday and Friday at 6:00pm, respectively. Semi-finals will go on Saturday, with the 2nd and 3rd place teams playing at 1:00pm, and 1st and 4th at 4:30pm. The bronze medal game is set for Sunday at 9:30am, with the gold medal game to follow at 1:00pm.

Team Alberta U16 Roster >

RED DEER - Wednesday was quite the day for a number of Albertans, as the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, National Women’s Team and Team WHL rosters were all announced.

Eight Team Alberta alumni selected for World U17 Hockey Challenge

Eight players from Team Alberta’s 2019 Canada Winter Games U16 squad have been selected to play in the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Medicine Hat and Swift Current.

Defencemen Corson Ceulemans (Beaumont) Kyle Masters (Edmonton) and Olen Zellweger (Fort Saskatchewan), and forwards Jayden Grubbe (Calgary), Dylan Guenther (Edmonton), Matthew Savoie (St. Albert), Sean Tschigerl (Whitecourt) and Kai Uchacz (Okotoks) are among the 66 players chosen to represent Canada.

The 66 players will be divided into three teams representing Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red, and Team Canada White when they compete against the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States in their quest for a gold medal.

In July, 112 players were invited to the week-long national under-17 development camp, marking the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence.

The tournament opens with all three Canadian teams in action Saturday, November 2 at 7p.m. MT; Team Canada Red takes on Russia at the Innovation Credit Union iPlex in Swift Current, and Team Canada Black will face off against Team Canada White at the Canalta Centre in Medicine Hat.

Single-game tickets will be available for purchase starting at $10 for youth and $15 for adults on Oct. 16, and can be purchased online at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets.

Maschmeyer to suit up for Team Canada in November

Former Team Alberta U18 Female netminder Emerance Maschmeyer will take a familiar spot in net for Team Canada this November, as the Bruderheim native was named to the National Women’s Team roster for the two game-series against the United States set for November 8-10 in Cranberry Township, PA.

Team Canada will take on the United States at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Friday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. MT and Sunday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. MT. Both games are in preparation for the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship, March 31-April 10 in Halifax and Truro, N.S.

Six Albertans land on Team WHL for Canada Russia Series

Six Albertans will suit up for Team WHL during the 2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series in Saskatoon and Prince Albert in November.

Defencemen Bowen Byram (Lethbridge/Cranbrook) and Ty Smith (Lloydminster), along with forwards Kirby Dach (Fort Saskatchewan), Dillon Hamaliuk (Leduc), Peyton Krebs (Okotoks) and Brayden Tracey (Calgary) will represent their league in games five and six of the annual series, set for November 13 in Saskatoon, and November 14 in Prince Albert.

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce the Team Alberta roster for the 2019 U18 Female team that will represent the province at the 2019 National Women’s U18 Championships in Morden and Winkler, MB.

Team Alberta U18 Female Roster >

"We saw a lot of talent and determination throughout Summer and Fall Camp, which made the selection of this roster challenging," said Head Coach Craig Perrett. "Now that we have the team selected, our staff is looking forward to working with these players as we move towards competition at the 2019 U18 Nationals.”

Sixty-eight players were originally invited to the U18 Summer Camp in Red Deer in July, where a shortlist roster was established. The shortlisted players moved on to participate in Fall Camp held in Edmonton on September 27-29.

Joining Perrett on the team staff are: Dayna Janzen (assistant coach), Brett Wold (assistant coach), Shanya Shwetz (video coach), Engi Lim (goalie coach), Brent Gaudreau (therapist), Johanna Mykyte (equipment manager), Nate Morris (strength & conditioning), Doug MacLeod (head scout), Kendall Newell (director of hockey operations) and Barry Medori (coach mentor).

Alberta’s Minor Hockey Associations are very well-represented amongst the team, with 16 different associations represented on the roster: Beaverlodge, Blackfalds, Calgary, Clive, Cochrane, Didsbury, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Morinville, Sherwood Park, Spirit River, St. Albert, Thunderstars, and Whitecourt.

Among the 20 players, eight will be returning from the U18 team that won a gold medal at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer earlier this year: Jaden Bogden, Hayleigh Craig, Aliya Jomha, Bree Kennedy, Sierra LaPlante, Brooklyn Schroeder, Alexandria Spence, and Sarah Wozniewicz.

The 2019 U18 Nationals will feature the top-rated female players in the under-18 age category from different provinces across Canada, and the tournament is the first step on the road to Canada’s National Women’s Team.

Team Alberta opens the tournament against Team Saskatchewan on November 5 in Winkler.

Full Schedule >