Inside Edge
Ready for the Rink!
Get ready to turn in to the rink! We have lots of news to share as we gear up for the 2021-2022 hockey season!
We’re all excited to see the players skating again and we want to do everything within our power to ensure they get a full season in. It’s been wonderful to hear skates cutting through the ice, pucks hitting the boards and players having fun once again as they fill the arenas in and around Edmonton to get ready for the upcoming season. We have waited a long time for this! The silver lining is we all have a greater appreciation to be able to see the kids play the game. Plus, we’re more excited than we have been in a long time!
While we enjoy being back at the rinks we are also aware COVID-19 is trying to stage a comeback. We need to be great teammates and look out for each other in order to realize a full season of hockey. Since this newsletter was first published, the City of Edmonton introduced a bylaw to make mask wearing mandatory in public buildings, including recreation facilities. In addition, there are a lot of other easy things players, parents, coaches and others can do to help battle COVID, which can be found here.
The Next Level
Our teams and organizations have taken many exciting steps to take the player experience to the next level.
The Edmonton Federation Hockey League has a new look, new structure and new programming which will make the player experience better than ever. A great example can be found in theConfederation Hockey Club's new streams of play. Players and parents can now choose from four various levels of play - competitive, development, community and recreation - with excellent programming in each category to meet the desires of the individual and his/her family.
Our five athletic clubs are gearing up for great seasons with a new Elite Hockey Program Framework. The comprehensive curriculum offers a holistic approach to the development of the player and the person.
Filling the Calendar
The club’s season includes the Oiler Entertainment Group Cup, a playdown for U13 AA squads in Edmonton and area to determine the capital region team to go to the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament! There will also be the U18 AAA & U16 AAA Elite Showcase, when teams from across Alberta will converge on Edmonton in December to showcase their skills just days before the Western Hockey League Prospects Draft.
On the girls side, the Edmonton Female Athletic Club Pandas are planning for a stellar year. They have a large group of talented returning players plus some excellent newcomers - now they just need to go show their stuff on the ice. Best of luck, ladies!
Teams in the Federation have new teams to play against and can look forward to the return of Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week early in the new year. Our partners on the tournament, led by QuikCard’s Lyle Best, have long believed in the value of hockey and what team sports can do to help develop players and people We all look forward to the return of QEMHW and we hope to have more teams than ever as we invite the new teams in the Federation to play as well as the teams that have enjoyed the event for years.
We're also excited by the return of our Timbits Festival in a few months and the Timbits Jamboree at the end of the season!
HockeyTV
Everyone from scouts to families and everyone in-between will be able to watch the action from the comfort of their home if they can’t get to the rink. Hockey Edmonton has struck a partnership HockeyTV, Telus and the City of Edmonton which will see cameras installed so viewers elsewhere can watch a live stream of the action. The cameras will be installed in Bill Hunter, Terwillegar and the Meadows for the start of the season, followed by similar installations in Clareview and Mill Woods.
Partners & Teammates
We are also thrilled with our growing roster of teammates. We are once again supporting Hockey Canada and Team Canada at the Women’s World Championship. We're encouraging everyone to cheer hard for the ladies and support girls hockey in Alberta at the same time by purchasing 50-50 tickets.
In The Community
We have always enjoyed all our initiatives that take us into the community. We are currently working with Eastwood, Spruce Avenue and Delton to get an Outdoor Hockey League up and running in those communities as well as Parkdale and Cromdale. We are endeavouring to get kids to the ODRs who might not otherwise get a chance to play hockey.
As you know, the game can be a wonderful way to help develop players, people and community. We are working with our friends at Imperial Oil Strathcona on our Stars for Life video series which celebrates people who have used lessons from hockey to make a big impact away from the rink. You can watch the videos on our YouTube Channel.
If you have any suggestions of a Star for Life or if you would like to get involved and volunteer on one of our community initiatives or in the game itself, please email us at office@hockeyedmonton.ca.
Finally, a hearty thank you to the players, the parents, the coaches and all our other people who make our hockey family what it is. We couldn't do it without you!!!
We'll see you at the rink.
