Legendary University of Alberta Coach Clare Drake headed to HHOF

RED DEER - In what many are calling a long over-due honour, Clare Drake is finally headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The legendary University of Alberta coach will join Dave Andreychuck, Danielle Goyette, Jeremy Jacobs, Paul Kariya, Mark Recchi, and Teemu Selanne as the Class of 2017.

Originally from Saskatchewan, Drake moved to Edmonton following his graduation from the University of British Columbia in the early 1950’s. He played one season of hockey with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, and earned a Bachelor of Education Degree there. Drake then completed his Master of Science degree at the University of Washington, and continued on to the University of Oregon.

Drake returned to Edmonton as a teacher, and in 1955, he joined the Golden Bears as interim Head Coach, winning his first league championship. He was named the full-time Head Coach in 1958, a post he held for 28 season, amassing 697 wins, 17 Canada West titles, and six national championships behind the bench. Popularly-known as "the dean of coaching", Drake is the only university coach to win a national championship in both hockey and football in the same year, a feat he accomplished in 1967.

In the inaugural Canada Winter Games in 1967, Drake led the Golden Bears, who represented Team Alberta, to a gold medal.

Drake also coached the Edmonton Oilers during the 1975-76 World Hockey Association season, served as an Assistant Coach with the Winnipeg Jets in 1989-90, and worked with the Dallas Stars during the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs. Internationally, Drake was the co-coach of the 1980 Canadian Olympic Hockey team, and the mentor coach for Canada’s National Women’s Team leading up to the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Drake was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, and had the University of Alberta’s hockey rink, formerly the Varsity Arena, named after him.

---

Hockey Alberta is proud to unveil a new section at hockeyalberta.ca. Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email [email protected].

RED DEER - It was another solid year for Albertans at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in Chicago, including a history-making selection in the first round.

Thirteen players from Alberta were taken over the weekend, including Brooks Bandits defenceman Cale Makar, who became the highest drafted player in Alberta Junior Hockey League history when then Colorado Avalanche selected him fourth overall.

Spokane Chiefs forward Jaret-Anderson Dolan was the next Alberta off the board, selected in the second round by the LA Kings. Another AJHL defender, Ian Mitchell of the Spruce Grove Saints, was selected in the second round as well, taken 57th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks.

A pair of Albertan netminders also heard their names called on Saturday, as the Lethbridge Hurricane’s Stuart Skinner was selected in the third round by his hometown Edmonton Oilers, and Price Albert Raider Ian Scott was taken in the fourth round by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A full list of Albertans drafted can be found below:

Pick	Player	Team	Position	Hometown
FIRST ROUND
4th	Cale Makar (Brooks Bandits, AJHL)	Colorado Avalanche	Defence	Calgary
SECOND ROUND
41st	Jaret Anderson-Dolan (Spokane Chiefs, WHL)	Los Angeles Kings	Forward	Calgary
57th	Ian Mitchell (Spruce Grove Saints, AJHL)	Chicago Blackhawks	Defence	Calahoo
THIRD ROUND
78th	Stuart Skinner (Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL)	Edmonton Oilers	Goalie	Edmonton
79th	Lane Zablocki (Red Deer Rebels, WHL)	Detroit Red Wings	Forward	Wetaskiwin
FOURTH ROUND
97th	Mason Shaw (Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL)	Minnesota Wild	Forward	Wainwright
110th	Ian Scott (Price Albert Raiders, WHL)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Goalie	Calgary
122nd	Kyle Olson (Tri-City Americans, WHL)	Anaheim Ducks	Forward	Calgary
FIFTH ROUND
128th	Tyler Steenbergen (Swift Current Broncos, WHL)	Arizona Coyotes	Forward	Sylvan Lake
140th	Zach Fischer (Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL)	Calgary Flames	Forward	Lloydminster
144th	Parker Foo (Brooks Bandits, AJHL)	Chicago Blackhawks	Forward	Edmonton
148th	Kale Howarth (Trail Smoke Eaters, BCHL)	Columbus Blue Jackets	Forward	Red Deer
SEVENTH ROUND
198th	Skyler McKenzie	Winnipeg Jets	Forward	Sherwood Park

CALGARY - Thirty hockey players from Alberta are among the 197 invited to Hockey Canada’s annual National Team’s Summer Showcase in July.

Fifteen Albertans will head to the under-17 development camp in Calgary: goaltenders Byron Fancy (Claresholm) and Taylor Gauthier (Calgary), defencemen Daniel Baker (Edmonton), Bowen Byram (Lethbridge), Jake Lee (Sherwood Park), Kirby Proctor (Okotoks), Rhett Rhinehart (Lloydminster), and Matthew Robertson (Sherwood Park), and forwards Connor Bouchard (Cochrane), Ethan Browne (Sherwood Park), Carter Chorney (Sherwood Park), Kirby Dach (Fort Saskatchewan), Liam Keeler (Edmonton), Peyton Krebs (Okotoks), and Brayden Tracey (Calgary).

Goaltender Carl Stankowski (Calgary), defenceman Ty Smith (Lloydminster) and forward Chase Wouters (Lloydminster) will vie for a spot on Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 team.

Meanwhile, 12 more Albertans will head to Plymouth, Mich., for the Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Development Camp: Goaltenders Carter Hart (Sherwood Park) and Stuart Skinner (Edmonton), defencemen Jake Bean (Calgary), Kale Clague (Lloydminster), Josh Mahura (St. Albert), Cale Makar (Calgary), and David Quenneville (Edmonton), and forwards Tyler Benson (Edmonton), Dillon Dubé (Cochrane), Matthew Phillips (Calgary), Mason Shaw (Wainwright), and Sam Steele (Sherwood Park).

---

Hockey Alberta is proud to unveil a new section at hockeyalberta.ca. Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email [email protected].

RED DEER - Hockey Canada has adopted a policy requiring Initiation level hockey be played on cross-ice or half-ice surfaces. To help our Minor Hockey Associations facilitate this requirement, Hockey Alberta is providing an opportunity for MHAs to purchase ice dividers at a discounted price, if there is sufficient interest. Any MHA in Alberta is eligible to participate.

The approximate cost for the ice dividers will be:

• Foam Rink Dividers – $1,650 + shipping and GST
• Hard Board Rink Dividers – $6,800 + shipping and GST

If your MHA would like to participate, please complete the online registration form by July 5, 2017. Once the deadline passes, Hockey Alberta will decide on whether to move forward and will confirm with all MHAs who expressed interest.

To access the online submission form, or if you have any questions about the submission process or the status of your application, please contact Melissa Drake in the Hockey Alberta Office by email at [email protected] or phone 403-967-0064.

CALGARY - Six netminders will be among the 30 attending Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence goaltending Camp, which runs June 9-11 in Calgary.

Carter Hart (Sherwood Park), Ian Scott (Calgary), and Stuart Skinner (Edmonton) will take part at the Under-20 level, Carl Stankowski (Calgary) at the Under-18 level, while Byron Fancy (Claresholm) and Taylor Gauthier (Calgary) will attend the Under-17 development camp.

The weekend-long camp brings together some of the country’s top goaltending talent with elite-level instructors from across North America. The camp is the initial evaluation stage for summer development and selection camps in the under-17, under-18 and under-20 levels.

---

Hockey Alberta is proud to unveil a new section at hockeyalberta.ca. Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email [email protected].