Focusing on Development for coaches, officials and players

RED DEER - As the Hlinka Gretzky Cup continues in Edmonton this weekend, Hockey Alberta is offering numerous events to promote player, coach and official development, in conjunction with the Centre ICE Summit.

The weekend kicks off with the Alberta Built Coach Seminar, which runs all day Friday and Saturday at MacEwan University. The seminar is a rare opportunity for more than 100 Alberta coaches to participate in presentations from top level coaches, and internationally-renowned experts in the fields of coaching and player development. The list of presenters includes: Todd McLellan and Glen Gulutzan (Edmonton Oilers); Paul Dennis (University of Toronto); John Dunn (University of Alberta); Dr. Stephen Norris (iMobius Ingenuity Inc); Richard Monette (Active for Life); and panel discussions, including an IIHF panel with guest speakers from Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland.

Friday afternoon and evening features a special development opportunity for Hockey Alberta officials. The event features a 90-minute on-ice session led by Dave Smith, the NHL Officials Director of Fitness. Also included is a 60-minute classroom session with presentations from Hockey Alberta, the WHL, and other guest presenters.

On Saturday and Sunday, player development will take centre stage as Hockey Alberta, in partnership with the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG), will host the first ever Summer ICE Jamboree for novice players. The event, open to any players born in 2010 and 2011, will be structured according to Hockey Alberta’s new Intro to Hockey model which focuses on long-term player development by utilizing smaller ice surfaces to enhance skating, passing, shooting and overall touches of the puck. Games will be ongoing throughout the weekend at the Downtown Community Arena.

Hockey Alberta has completed the transition to our new home in the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre at Red Deer College.

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EDMONTON/CALGARY - It was quite the weekend for 11 former members of Team Alberta’s U16 Male and U18 Female teams, with six alumni winning the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and five alumnae named to Team Canada’s Development and U18 team rosters.

Bowen Byram, Kirby Dach, Taylor Gauthier, Dylan Holloway, Peyton Krebs and Matthew Robertson took home a gold medal with Team Canada on Saturday at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton, defeating Sweden 6-2. All six players were members of Team Alberta’s gold-medal winning U16 Male squad at the 2016 WHL Cup.

Meanwhile, Team Alberta Female alumnae Stephanie Markowsk, Danielle Serdachny and Rachel Weiss were named to Canada’s National Women’s Team’s Under-18 roster on Sunday, while alumnae Alex Poznikoff and Malia Schneider were among the 22 players named to Canada’s National Women’s Development team.

Canada’s National Women’s Development Team and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team will take part in a pair of three-game series against the United States, Aug. 16-19 at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.

Hockey Alberta is proud to unveil a new section at hockeyalberta.ca. Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email [email protected].

CALGARY - Six members of Team Alberta’s 2016 WHL Cup gold medal-winning squad will suit up for Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton and Red Deer August 6-11.

Forwards Kirby Dach, Dylan Holloway and Peyton Krebs, defencemen Bowen Byram and Matthew Robertson, and goaltender Taylor Gauthier are among the 22 players selected to represent Canada in Red Deer and Edmonton for the annual international under-18 tournament.

Canada hits the ice in Red Deer on Saturday, August 4 at 7 p.m. for a pre-tournament game against the Czech Republic before heading to Edmonton to open round-robin play against Switzerland on Monday at 7p.m.

This year marks the first time the newly rebranded Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be played in Canada. Ticket packages and single-game tickets for Red Deer and Edmonton can be purchased at HlinkaGretzkyCup.com.