Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

P.A. Northern Bears named hosts ahead of 2020 Esso Cup

Sep 28, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The Esso Cup will be returning to Saskatchewan for a third time. This time around, the championship tournament will be hosted in the Gateway to the North.

During a formal announcement on Sept. 28, the Prince Albert Northern Bears were named as the tournament’s host team, which means they will earn a spot in the event. They will be competing with the best of the best from the Pacific, Western, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions.

Prince Albert Minor Hockey technical director James Mays said the girls have their work cut out for them, as he expects the tournament to attract the top female talents from across the country to compete.

“I’ve attended the tournament a number of times,” Mays said. “The competition level, every team here is going to be a regional winner, so they’re all good teams.”

Mays said spectators shouldn’t expect blowout games as the teams are fairly evenly matched and he expects each team should have a legitimate chance of taking home the gold medal.

Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said he is excited for the city to flex its volunteerism muscles. He expected there to be enough time between Prince Albert hosting the Junior Men’s World Softball Championships this past summer and the Esso Cup so as to not create burnout.

“We are the capital of volunteers for Western Canada. We have proven that we are the home of the volunteering,” Dionne said. “We’re getting [volunteers] more excited, now they can see in a couple of years, there’s another event they can get involved in.”

Dionne noted the Esso Cup will be economically beneficial for the city of Prince Albert, as it puts “heads in beds” at local hotels. It’s also an effort which will help prove the city is the healthcare, education, recreation and service centre for northern Saskatchewan. A press release issued by Hockey Canada indicated previous tournaments have historically generated in excess of $1 million in economic impact for the host teams.

The Prince Albert Northern Bears hope to be the first team to win a gold medal on home ice.

Prince Albert Northern Bears 15-year-olds Rhea Peterson and Kailey Ledoux are both excited to participate in the tournament. Although it’s set to be hosted in 2020, both hope to be on the team to see it through.

“It’s pretty exciting actually,” Peterson said, who played with the Bears for all of last season as an underager. “We all know what we have to do to be a strong team in the tournament; we can’t just walk in and say, ‘we have a spot,’ we got to work for it still.”

Teams from Saskatchewan have medaled five times since the tournament was created in 2009. The Notre Dame Hounds took home gold in 2011, followed by the Weyburn Gold Wings in 2014.

The Esso Cup has been hosted in Saskatchewan in both Regina and Weyburn in previous years.

 

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas