SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — George Matthews could not emphasize enough the special opportunity that awaits P.E.I. hockey fans.
Matthews, who spent 13 years in the National Hockey League as the radio voice of the Columbus Blue Jackets and current play-by-play announcer of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Charlottetown Islanders, was the master of ceremonies for Thursday’s announcement that Summerside and Charlottetown will co-host the 2020 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge from Oct. 31 to Nov. 7.
“When it comes to hockey, this is like an all-you-can-eat buffet,” Matthews told the well-attended event held on the ice surface at Eastlink Arena in Summerside. “This will be the best 16-year-olds in the world.”
It will be the first time this tournament has been hosted on P.E.I.
“This is one of Hockey Canada’s premier events, and is the first step of the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence,” said Hockey Canada board of director Goops Wooldridge, who made the official announcement. “It’s also the first time these athletes will have the opportunity to wear a Hockey Canada jersey for international competition.”
Tanner Doiron of Summerside officiated at the 2018 tournament in Saint John, N.B.
“The entire time I was in Saint John I kept saying how people back home would really appreciate to see this talent and the event itself,” said Doiron. “The calibre from all the different countries was superb.
“Not only the skill, but the speed was something that caught my eye and how fast these young players were.”
The tournament will attract hundreds of professional, Canadian Hockey League, college and university scouts.
Long time
Wayne Long of the City of Charlottetown and JP Desrosiers of the City of Summerside worked closely together in submitting the successful bid.
“Wayne and I have bumped into each other at this event over the last decade across the nation,” said Desrosiers. “We had been invited there by Hockey Canada to look at bringing the event to P.E.I.
“Throughout the years it was evident when we would bump into each other that we both certainly wanted to bring the event to our respective cities, but the magnitude of the event, the financial costs, the resources that are required to go into it it wasn’t feasible.
“That is what really sparked our discussions as two host cities today to look at doing a longer term sport hosting agreement and start bringing events that we simply cannot do on our own. Rather than letting them go to other communities, why not bring them to our province together?”
When asked what people can expect to see in each city, Long said it is a 50/50 approach.
“The schedule hasn’t been released yet, but the ultimate goal is to have 50/50 play in both cities and perhaps some exhibition games elsewhere in the province,” said Long. “Our whole strategy dual hosting partnership is all about that.
“It’s about trying to generate and yield results for both cities from an economic and tourism perspective. As JP indicated, one of the things is we want to chase down bigger events that we don’t have the capacity to host individually.”
It is hoped pre-tournament games and team practices will be held in communities across P.E.I.
The province will contribute $250,000 and the federal government’s contribution is expected to be several hundred-thousand-dollars.
When asked the total cost of the event, Desrosiers would not delve into specifics.
“It’s a substantial amount,” he said. “It’s certainly more than a World Junior A (Hockey Challenge), an RBC Cup (Canadian junior A hockey championship) or a Telus Cup (Canadian midget hockey championship) that we have hosted in the past.
NEED TO KNOW:
World Under-17 Hockey Challenge facts:
- Tournament dates: Oct. 31 to Nov. 7, 2020.
- Number of teams: 8
- Countries represented: Canada (3 teams), Russia, Sweden, United States, Czech Republic and Norway.
- Where: Games will be played at the 3,728-seat Credit Union Place in Summerside, and the 3,717-seat Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown.
- Number of games: 23
- Expected economic impact: $5- to $6 million.
- Number of 2018 first-round NHL picks to play in tournament: 21
- Number of first-round NHL picks to have played in event overall: 411
- TV coverage: TSN (4 games)
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