Challenge bid falls short
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Abbotsford has lost out to Winnipeg in its bid to host the World U17 Hockey Challenge.
Hockey Canada informed local organizers last Monday that they had chosen the Manitoba capital as the host city for the event in 2011 and 2012.
According to Lochie Bell, who spearheaded the local bid, Abbotsford was among the final four cities up for consideration. He said that there are plans to re-apply in future years to host the U17 event.
“We’ll be back, to quote Arnold Schwarzenegger,” he said with a chuckle.
“Hockey Canada was very impressed by our bid, and they’ll definitely look to us in the future.
“Winnipeg is a good choice, we know that. They’ve got a good reputation in the hockey world, and they’ve hosted the World Juniors in the past.”
The World U17 Hockey Challenge is hosted annually by Hockey Canada, and features the planet’s top 16-year-old hockey players. The tournament includes teams from five regions in Canada (Pacific, West, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic), as well as five international squads. The 2009 tourney in Port Alberni, for instance, featured teams from Russia, Finland, Slovakia, Germany and the United States.
The World U17 Challenge offers top prospects their first taste of international play, and Roberto Luongo, Jarome Iginla, Pavel Bure and Alexander Ovechkin are among the NHL luminaries who participated in the event in years past.
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