Hockey Canada Unveils Club Hockey Canada

Club Hockey Canada is a program developed by Hockey Canada - with the support of Hockey Canada’s partner branches - to provide added value to registered hockey players, their parents, coaches and officials. The official membership  card will be directly mailed to all those registered in the Hockey Canada Registry. Hockey Alberta is pleased to be a partner of Hockey Canada moving forward with this unique and innovative opportunity.

Membership cards should be coming out in late September and into October. 

Hockey Canada News Release

With the 2012-13 season set to start across Canada, Hockey Canada is excited to introduce Club Hockey Canada, a loyalty program for registered hockey players, their parents, coaches and officials.

Other features of Club Hockey Canada include The Hockey Zone, an online space for hockey fans of all ages to play games, watch exclusive videos and follow the latest hockey news. In addition, Club Hockey Canada’s online store will feature items from national brands, including gas and grocery gift cards, sporting equipment, and Hockey Canada merchandise, with a portion of each purchase automatically going into a household PUCK BUCKS account. PUCK BUCKS can be redeemed to off-set next season’s registration fees or team expenses, to help Canadian families lower the cost of hockey.

“Hockey Canada’s goal is, and has always been, to get more players participating in our game,” said Bob Nicholson, president and CEO of Hockey Canada. “We feel this is a tremendous opportunity to leverage the corporate partnerships we have and make the game more affordable and accessible. We want to maximize what is available to us, to bring down the costs associated with playing the game.” 

Every season, more than 550,000 players, along with tens of thousands of coaches and officials, take to ice in one of Hockey Canada’s 13 branches and thousands of minor hockey associations from coast to coast. Club Hockey Canada will reward their participation in Canada’s game by cutting down on costs just by doing everyday tasks, such as buying gas or dinner for the family.

Hockey Alberta announced on Tuesday the top 20 athletes that have been named to the Team Alberta roster for the 2012 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, November 7-11 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TEAM ALBERTA U18 FEMALE ROSTER

The selection process started with an intense spring selection camp in May where a combined total of 88 athletes met to compete for one of the 46 spots at Summer Camp. Following the completion of the Summer Camp, the coaching and evaluation staff narrowed the talented field down to 27 players.

The short listed players then competed at a tournament in Edmonton facing the University of Alberta Pandas and two Bantam AAA male teams September 7 - 9.

“The tournament in Edmonton gave us a chance to see what the girls can do in game situations and against players at an elite level,” said Hockey Alberta’s Manager of Hockey Development, Mike Kraichy. “Narrowing down to just 20 players is difficult, but we believe we’ve put together a team that can play well in every facet of the game.”

The National Women’s U18 Championship is an event that brings together the top talent from across Canada. The event is held every year except when the Canada Winter Games are held (every four years). In 2011, Team Alberta finished seventh.

Of the 20 athletes, 12 are returning from the team that finished seventh in 2011, and three are returning from the team that won Gold at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.

U18 Female is the final stage of the Team Alberta Female Program and one of the initial stages that Hockey Canada uses to help identify players for the National Program.