Preparations underway for upcoming Esso Cup

“The hockey is outstanding. You’re getting the best teams across the country and ultimately competing to be a national champion. Not a lot of people can say they had an opportunity to do so,” Hamilton said. “The female game is evolving and getting better and better each year. You’re going to see a lot of these players wearing the Team Canada sweater down the road, or at least that’s what we hope.”

This will be the third Esso Cup to be held in Saskatchewan, with Regina hosting in 2010 and Weyburn in 2014. This will be the first time the Prince Albert Northern Bears’ franchise will be able to host the Esso Cup.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Robin Wildey, hosting committee co-chair, said. “This is going to be the first national women’s female championship hosted in this town. We’re very proud about that.”

Before co-chairing the hosting committee with Darren Fiddler, Wildey volunteered with the hosting Prince Albert Northern Bears for the past 10 years. He went with the Bears as their manager during their trip to the 2017 Esso Cup in Morden, MB, as well as last year’s tournament in Sudbury.

“To bring a national championship to a city, it just makes people more proud of where they are. The support that teams have been shown is amazing,” Wildey said. “It’s a great experience. Morden was awesome and the guys in Sudbury did a great job. But I’m pretty sure that here in P.A., with the facility we have, it’s going to be amazing. We have a top-notch facility here, we have passionate fans, and it’s going to be a great time.”

Seeing as the tournament will be held at the Art Hauser Centre from April 19 to 25, that could possibly conflict with the Prince Albert Raiders. Should the Raiders advance to the third round of the WHL playoffs like they did this past season, they would be playing during that time and would still need ice at the Hauser.

But Hamilton said even if the Raiders are still playing during that time, that will be handled.

“Should that be a situation like this past year, we’ll make sure there’s a plan A and a plan B in place,” Hamilton said. “That’s definitely something that was outlined in the bid package and something that we will continue to monitor as we move forward.”

–

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW

by Jeff D'Andrea

Preparations underway for upcoming Esso Cup

What's Trending