It’s official: Medicine Hat, Swift Current to co-host World Under-17 Hockey Challenge Nov. 2-9
By Sean Rooney on January 16, 2019.
www.hockeycanada.ca Players from Team Canada Red and Team Sweden battle in front of the net during the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held in Saint John and Quispamsis, N.B.. The 2019 edition of the tournament will be held in Medicine Hat and Swift Current, as announced by officials on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019.
@MHNRooney Nearly three years in the making, the biggest hockey event ever to come to Medicine Hat was finally announced Wednesday. The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will be co-hosted by the Gas City and Swift Current Nov. 2-9, 2019, including both the bronze and gold-medal games at Canalta Centre. “Personally I’m extremely excited to have the event go forward,” said Terry Bartman, chair of the Hat’s host committee. “It’s an excellent opportunity to showcase the city, Canalta Centre, and it’s going to be great for our minor hockey systems. For our kids to be able to see where you need to get to, what’s available, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for the city of Medicine Hat.” Bartman couldn’t help but laugh and admit it wasn’t much of a secret that the bid had come to fruition. The idea, which first came about in spring 2016, went through multiple iterations as Hockey Canada first awarded the 2018 event to New Brunswick, then inquired about adding Swift Current to strengthen the Medicine Hat bid. Dignitaries including Hat mayor Ted Clugston, Swift Current mayor Denis Perrault, Swift Current host committe chair Tim Marcus and Hockey Canada representatives were on hand to officially announce the event. Most of the dozen or so bid committee members have stayed on board since the first bid in 2017. Bartman, the past president of the South East Athletic Club hockey organization, believes it’s been worth the perseverance. He’s looked through the alumni of the tournament and seen names like McDavid, Crosby and Ovechkin — the eight-team event showcases future stars from around the world. “Other than the Medicine Hat Tigers being in the Western Hockey League finals, I’ve been here forever and can’t remember ever seeing something of this magnitude, to say the least,” he said. “Medicine Hat fans have an opportunity to these kids at the start of their careers and say ‘I saw that kid play at 16 and now he’s a dominant player.’” Russia beat Finland in the 2018 tournament final in Saint John, N.B. Three Canadian teams take part; Canada Red was fourth in 2018. Part of the reason Medicine Hat didn’t secure the 2018 tournament was that Hockey Canada wanted to move it around the country more. The 2017 tournament was held in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C., so the decision was made to head east for 2018 before coming to Alberta and Saskatchewan. “The right opportunity came along,” said Bartman. “The perseverance and the want within the organizing committee to stick with it… and you can’t say enough about the city councillors and the mayor supporting the event, giving us the ($125,000) grant to move forward. Some Hat fans still yearn for the Memorial Cup tournament, but Bartman noted this is a step in the right direction. “I believe it’s a start, where Medicine Hat can start to get involved in this and show people that Medicine Hat’s got the wherewithal to make it work,” he said. “It could lead to bigger and better things down the road for our city and our teams.” 14
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