If there is one staple in every Alberta community, regardless of size, it’s the arena. While it is a gathering place for residents and a venue for countless events year round, during the winter months it is so much more. For hockey families and fans, arenas become homes away from home; places where long lasting friendships are forged and dreams come true.
St. Albert has a proud hockey history, one that dates back decades and can serve as inspiration for fledgling players today. While many of us long for the return of an Alberta Junior Hockey League team to our city, we still have many high-level role models for our young to look up to. Most recently those role models include the likes of Jarome Iginla and Nick Holden. The big names who hail from or were developed in St. Albert, fill the annals of NHL history. Joe Benoit, Mark Messier, Fernando Pisani, Geoff Sanderson are just a few who have inspired our hockey youth to chase their dreams since the 1940s.
The St. Albert Minor Hockey Association for years has been among the largest associations west of Toronto. It boasts close to 1,800 players on 110 teams. The association also hosts the acclaimed John Reid Memorial Bantam AAA Tournament, which hosts teams from across Canada and the United States.
It also serves as a potential big break opportunity for many players. The 2015 WHL Bantam Draft featured almost 90 players who were participants in the John Reid tournament, including 14 of 21 first round picks. At least 110 alumni from the tournament have gone on to play in the NHL including Iginla, Scott and Rob Niedermeyer, Vincent Lecavalier, Eric Staal, Jonathan Toews, Jordan Eberle, and most recently St. Albert’s own Colton Parayko. The St. Albert Sabres lead the pack with 15 players who competed in the tournament going on to play in the NHL since 1979.
With stats like those it is easy to see that hockey is truly part of the lifeblood and fabric of the St. Albert community. This weekend the rest of the country will get a glimpse of how hockey has contributed and shaped our community. Between Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast and Sunday’s Hometown Hockey special feature, our community’s past, present and future of hockey will be on proud display. Intermission broadcasts between periods of Sunday’s Edmonton Oilers game against the Winnipeg Jets will be live from St. Albert.
We encourage everyone to take in the weekend festivities or tune in to watch on television. It might seem clichĂ© when people say how much Canada’s game has done for the development of a community, but with our rich hockey history in St. Albert it is a fact.
With a new arena in the works, city council has committed to helping carry on our hockey legacy by ensuring all our potential hockey stars have a place to play. Now all we need is an AJHL team back on St. Albert ice.
