Seventeen Albertans named to NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List

RED DEER – 17 players from across the province have been named to the NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2025 NHL Draft.

Tri-City Americans defenceman Jackson Smith (Calgary) earned an ‘A’ rating, a rating indicating players who are projected to be taken in the first round of the NHL draft. Forwards Nathan Behm (Calgary) and Braeden Cootes (Sherwood Park) earned a ‘B’ rating, meaning that a player is projected to be selected in the second or third round.

Players with ‘C’ rating are projected to go in the fourth or fifth round, while the ‘W’ rating indicates players projected to be sixth- or seventh-round candidates.

The full list of Albertans named to the Players to Watch List can be found below:

RED DEER – Team Alberta showed that even when things got difficult, there was never a time to back down or quit. A 8-1 win in a rematch of last year’s final against Team Manitoba left Team Alberta as champions of the WHL Cup for the sixth time in team history.

The first period kicked off with Mirco Dufour (Rocky View County) opening the scoring to give Team Alberta the lead. Matthew Hilderman (Cochrane), Brock England (Airdrie), Jensen Marsh (Cochrane) and Nathan Cole (Airdrie) added on to the unanswered lead in the second period. Manitoba would get one back close to the end of the second period. Kyle Obobaifo (Calgary) and Jaggar John (Fort McMurray, 2) found the back of the net in the third period to extend the lead for Team Alberta. Leif Oaten (Calgary) made 16 saves in the win. England was awarded the MVP of the WHL Cup.

Team Alberta’s round robin started off a bit rocky with a 5-2 opening loss to Team Saskatchewan. They followed that with a 5-2 win to Team Manitoba with captain Ben Harvey’s (Edmonton) natural hat-trick leading the way. A 2-0 shutout loss against Team British Columbia saw Alberta placing third in round robin play and setting up a rematch in the semifinals against Team Saskatchewan. There, they trailed 4-0 about halfway into the second period, but things suddenly clicked and Team Alberta scored eight unanswered goals, with Hilderman capping off the comeback victory with his fourth goal of the game, an empty netter, to win 9-5 and set up a rematch against Team Manitoba.

This team deserves to be proud of their performance all week and the results showed it. Congratulations!

You can view the complete schedule from the WHL Cup HERE.

Save the Date!

Alberta Female Hockey Day returns for its sixth year. The event will take place in the southeast corner of the province, hosted by Medicine Hat on February 1^st, 2025.

Female Hockey Day is a Hockey Alberta initiative aimed at bringing female players, parents, coaches, and supporters together for the development, growth, and celebration of the game. Female Hockey Day has made stops in Red Deer, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Calgary, and Fort McMurray.

The Hockey Alberta Foundation will be giving community grants (up to $1,000 per applicant/MHA) for associations to hold their own Female Hockey Day event in conjunction with the main event. Please see Female Hockey Day Grant Application to apply to host your own.

RED DEER – Team Alberta has selected the twenty athletes representing Team Alberta Female at the 2024 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, November 3-9, taking place in Quispamsis, New Brunswick.

This year’s roster consists of two goalies, six defence and twelve forwards. Ten players on this year’s squad also represented Alberta at the 2023 Championship in Dawson Creek, BC, and are returning for another run at the championship.

Fourteen communities across Alberta are represented in this year’s squad. Communities include Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Sherwood Park, Carstairs, Ardrossan, Red Deer, Dunmore, Okotoks, Chestermere, Gibbons, Strathmore, Airdrie and Desert Blume.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S U18 ROSTER >

Team Alberta’s selection process included the U18 Summer Camp in July in Red Deer with 46 players involved in on and off-ice sessions and three scrimmages. A shortlist of 28 took part in the Team Alberta Fall Camp in Red Deer which included three games against USports women’s teams (University of Alberta and MacEwan University).

Staff members of this year’s team are Chris Leeming (Edmonton), Head Coach; Jessie Olfert (Edmonton), Assistant Coach; Erin O’Toole (Lethbridge), Assistant Coach; Danielle Wheeler (Sylvan Lake), Video Coach; Bella McKee (Paradise Valley), Goalie Coach; Paige Shannon (Calgary), Therapist; Dave Campbell (Grande Prairie), Equipment Manager; Rob Dawson (St. Albert), Coach Mentor; Kendall Newall (Red Deer), Head Scout; and Michael Kraichy (Red Deer); Director of Operations.

“As a staff, we felt that this was a competitive process and are excited to work with the 20 players selected as we move towards the National Championship.” stated Kraichy.

Team Alberta, who is powered by Gatorade, will begin its tournament on November 3 against Ontario Red. The team’s full schedule can be found below, with times listed in MST.

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is excited to announce the dates for the 2025 Spring Showcase.

The three-week event features the Alberta Cup (April 23-27), Alberta Challenge (April 30-May 4), and Prospects Cup (May 7-11), and is returning to the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre at Red Deer Polytechnic.

For the Alberta Challenge and Prospects Cup, this is the first step for athletes entering into the Team Alberta program. For Alberta Cup athletes, it is an opportunity for players to showcase their talents in hopes of being invited to U16 Team Alberta Summer Camp and ultimately representing Team Alberta at the 2025 WHL Cup.

Prior to the spring competitions, regional camps are hosted at various locations across Alberta to identify the players who will compete at each event. Each regional camp includes three virtual sessions from guest speakers to prepare players for the camp, a jersey and four ice-sessions. Dates and locations for regional camps are outlined below.

Applications are now being accepted from individuals interested in volunteering as a team staff member for any of the three events. Application deadline is October 30. Interested applicants should fill out the form(s) located at the applicable link(s) below.

2025 Alberta Cup - April 23-27

• Male players born in 2010.
• Regional camp registration opens on January 6.
• Regional camps run March 28-30 in Calgary, Red Deer, and Spruce Grove.

Team Staff Applications:

Hockey Alberta is seeking one head coach, two assistant coaches and one trainer for each of the six Alberta Cup teams.

AB Cup Coach Application > | AB Cup Trainer Application >

Go to the Alberta Cup website >

2025 Alberta Challenge - April 30 - May 4

• Female players born in 2010 and 2011.
• Regional camp registration opens on January 13.
• Regional camps run April 4-6, locations Beaumont and Cochrane.

Team Staff Applications:

Hockey Alberta is seeking one head coach, two assistant coaches, one apprentice coach and one trainer for each of the six Alberta Challenge teams.

AB Challenge Coach Application > | AB Challenge Apprentice Coach Application > | AB Challenge Trainer Application >

Go to the Alberta Challenge website >

2025 Prospects Cup - May 7-11

• Male players born in 2012.
• Regional camp registration opens on January 20.
• Regional camps run April 11-13 in Calgary, Olds, Vegreville and TBD (Capital).

Team Staff Applications:

Hockey Alberta is seeking one head coach, two assistant coaches and one trainer for each of the eight Prospect Cup regional teams.

Prospects Cup Coach Application > | Prospects Cup Trainer Application >

Go to Prospects Cup website >

RED DEER – Hockey Alberta has announced the roster for the Team Alberta U16 Male squad that is representing the province at the 2024 WHL Cup, taking place at the Peavey Mart Centurium in Red Deer.

The roster for this year’s squad is comprised of two goaltenders, seven defence and eleven forwards. Of the players on the twenty-man roster, seven players were taken in the first round of the 2024 Western Hockey League Draft, eight players were taken in the second round, three players were taken in the third round, and one player each was taken in the fourth and sixth rounds. This roster includes Aden Bouchard (Airdrie) and Ben Harvey (Edmonton) who were selected in the top five at third and fourth overall respectively, as well as Ossie McIntyre (St. Albert) and Owen Hayden (Calgary) who were selected in the top ten of the draft.

This year’s team includes players from eleven different communities across Alberta – Calgary, Edmonton, Cochrane, Blackfalds, Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Sturgeon County, Airdrie, Rocky View County, Fort McMurray and Olds. Nine players play in the Alberta Elite Hockey League, while the other eleven players play in the CSSHL.

TEAM ALBERTA U16 WHL CUP ROSTER >

The selection process saw eighty players attend the Summer Selection Camp in Red Deer in July. A shortlist of thirty-five players was selected from that camp before the roster was finalized down to the twenty players representing the province at the WHL Cup.

“We’re excited with the group that we have selected for this year’s WHL Cup.” said Mike Kraichy, Manager, High Performance for Hockey Alberta. “We feel that we have a lot of depth at all three positions and look forward to getting to compete against the best players across Western Canada in October.”

The team’s staff this year includes Derrick Martin (Edmonton), Head Coach; Ryan Allen (Grande Prairie), Assistant Coach; Chad Scharff (Airdrie), Assistant Coach; Marcus Cheng (Calgary), Video Coach; Theo Zubot (Calgary), Goalie Coach; Matt Goertzen (Edmonton), Therapist; Dave Campbell (Grande Prairie), Equipment Manager; Bobby Fox (Calgary), Head Scout; Barry Medori (Spruce Grove), Coach Mentor; and Kraichy (Red Deer), Director of Operations.

The 2024 WHL Cup will showcase the top 2009-born players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Team Alberta, powered by Gatorade, kicks off the WHL Cup against Team Saskatchewan on Wednesday, October 23. The schedule is available below.