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By Josh Hall, rdnewsNOW

Red Deer to host entire Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Apr 20, 2022 | 8:17 AM

RED DEER, AB – It’s official: Red Deer will host the entire Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer.

Red Deer was scheduled to co-host the annual tournament with Edmonton, but plans changed when the IIHF and Hockey Canada decided a few weeks ago that the capital city would get all hosting duties for the rebooted 2022 World Junior Championship.

That tournament was cancelled midway through the preliminary round last December, as teams played games in Edmonton and Red Deer, but found themselves mired in COVID-19 outbreaks.

Then, in March, it was said that hosting the World Juniors entirely in Edmonton would be easier in case any COVID-related situations arise. That event will take place Aug. 9-20.

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup was first hosted in Red Deer and Edmonton in summer 2018, with plans to bring it back twice more in two-year intervals. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic, leaving 2022 seemingly as the last chance to host for a while.

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It will run July 31-August 6 at the Peavey Mart Centrium, a change from when games were hosted at Servus Arena in 2018.

“While we were disappointed to have not been able to complete the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship as intended in December, our focus quickly shifted to hosting the event again when it was safe to do so,” said Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer of Hockey Canada. “Now, fans will be able to cheer on Team Canada at the World Juniors in Edmonton and at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer.”

Smith promises both tournaments will be unforgettable for hockey fans.

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which is not an IIHF-sanctioned event, will be hosted in cooperation with the Red Deer Rebels, and presented by RAM. It will mark the first time the best-on-best tournament will be hosted in Canada by just one community.

According to Hockey Canada, the men’s U-18 team will play its preliminary round games in Group A against Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland, while Czechia, Finland, Germany and the United States face each other in Group B.

Canada has won gold in the tournament 22 times since its inception in 1991. It was originally known as the Phoenix Cup, then the Pacific Cup, and by a few more monikers before it was renamed the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in 2007, three years after its namesake was killed in a motor vehicle collision. Gretzky’s name was added in 2018.

“We are thrilled to bring these two marquee hockey events to fans in Canada this summer and provide safe environments for the competing teams to chase gold in Alberta,” said Dean McIntosh, vice-president of events and properties for Hockey Canada.

“The economic impact of these tournaments will be in the millions of dollars for Edmonton, Red Deer and the province of Alberta, and we are excited to work with both host communities to establish legacy initiatives that will impact the grassroots game in Alberta for years to come.”

Full tournament and broadcast schedules will be shared at a later date.

Fans will be able to buy tournament packages beginning April 22 at HockeyCanada.ca.