The best of the best is the trademark of the prestigious John Reid Memorial Tournament.
“Our mandate is to bring in the most competitive teams and I think we do that,” said Cam Wietzel, the team selection chair for the 40th annual bantam AAA showcase extravaganza, hosted by the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club.
“It’s viewed by a lot of the hockey community as kind of the unofficial championship because at westerns there are no academy teams allowed in it,” Wietzel added. “We just take the best teams.”
Every year it’s a daunting task to determine the 15 teams joining the St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres in the tournament.
“Forty is the typical number of teams that apply and that’s what we saw this year,” Wietzel said. “The work actually begins in the summertime when some of the U.S. teams are being put together and they start playing essentially spring hockey and we watch them but it’s a big process.
“The committee we have is seven guys and it’s a good group. They all have hockey knowledge and we go out and watch some of the tournaments. Mid-November is when some of the major tournaments are happening and that's when we end up getting together and finalizing our list.
“It’s always tough, especially the last few spots. The first top 10 teams are pretty evident, it’s the last four, five, six teams you’re picking out of a large group of teams that would certainly be competitive so that’s the hard part.”
This year’s lineup for the Jan. 18 to 21 tournament features the following teams, including six from the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
John Reid pool: Sabres, Rink Hockey Academy of Winnipeg, Phoenix Jr. Coyotes and St. George’s Academy of Vancouver in the Skybox Grill division and Calgary Bisons, Delta Wild Prep Green, Lethbridge Golden Hawks and Okanagan Hockey Academy of Penticton in the Alta-West Bus Charters division.
Jarome Iginla pool: Burnaby Winter Club Bruins, Calgary Royals, Los Angeles Jr. Kings and Yale Hockey Academy of Abbotsford in the C2 Homes division and the Airdrie Xtreme, Northern Alberta Xtreme, OHA Penticton and Sherwood Park Flyers in the RE/MAX-Brian Cyr division.
Los Angeles is highly ranked in the United States for 2003-born teams.
“They’re a very strong team. They’re probably one of the best U.S. teams we’ve ever had here. They won the Rocky Mountain tournament in Calgary in November against some stiff competition. They’re a very well balanced and deep team,” Wietzel said.
A new champion will be crowned with the Toronto Marlboros not returning to defend their tournament title. The first Ontario bantam AAA team in the tournament since 2002 defeated Yale 5-4 in a shootout. Yale was the 2016 tournament champion as the third academy team in three years to skate away with the championship banner.
“Obviously a lot of the elite players have gone that route to the academies but within the league they play in, the CSSHL (Canadian Sport School Hockey League), it’s very competitive. We ended up taking seven teams out of that prep division and there is not a lot to pick between them. They’re very, very strong and even,” Wietzel said. “Interestingly enough the teams from Alberta, the AMBHL, have been competitive against them in other tournaments so I think you’re just seeing the talent spread out a little more but there is still a lot of talent out there.”
The roster of the Northern Alberta Xtreme, based in the Black School District at John Maland High School and Riverview Middle School in Devon, includes four St. Albert minor hockey products: Matt Savoie, the No. 1 overall ranked 2004 born prospect, and Zack Ostapchuk at forward and defencemen Cale Ashcroft and Marc Lajoie. Savoie, Ostapchuk and Lajoie played for the 2016/17 Sabres.
A record 13 players were selected from CSSHL teams in the first round of the 2017 Western Hockey League bantam draft.
Wietzel estimates around 110 scouts and general managers from the 22 WHL teams will be checking out the talent at this year's tournament.
“Some teams bring in their entire scouting staffs so that number is probably in the ball park if not a little low,” Wietzel said. “But we are seeing more and more agents believe it or not with this age group. There is probably between 20 to 30 agents and that’s something that has changed. It was very rare you would see an agent and now there is a number of them out there.”
The tournament has grown expeditiously since the Sherwood Park Bumpers won the inaugural eight-team event in 1979.
“It’s the 40th year and I know on the committee we’re all very excited about it. It says a lot to the people who started it and kept it together over the years. A bunch of different folks have put a lot of time and effort in making it what it is today,” said Wietzel of the tournament that was renamed in John Reid’s memory in 2004. Reid, a highly regarded hockey and lacrosse coach who played in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and for the Alberta Golden Bears, died of leukemia at age 41 on Nov. 6, 2003.
Around 300 volunteers assist in making the tournament extra special for the players.
“The Raiders’ organization parents all dedicate time and then there is a bunch of people who volunteer because they enjoy the event. They like coming out to watch the hockey. They want to help out their community,” Wietzel said. “There are some that still have a personal tie with John Reid and they want to participate any way they can. We have a number of guys who either played hockey with John or coached with john or their kids played with John’s kids. They come out year after year and it’s a way they can kind of honour his name too.
“Everybody has their own reason and there is certainly a large number and that’s a job in itself organizing 300 volunteers and Alison Liston does a fantastic job of that.”
The unflappable Trudy Kueber is the tournament chair.
“Trudy certainly deserves a pat on the back. She is really the reason the tournament is what it is. She has a lot to do with the tournament and all the attention to detail,” Wietzel said. “It’s a first-class event between the banquet, opening ceremonies and all the little things they do for the kids and that’s what separates it from the other tournaments in my mind.”
