WHL Awards 300 Scholarships To Graduate Players 

Western Hockey League Commissioner Ron Robison announced today that a total of 300 WHL graduate players have been awarded WHL Scholarships for the 2011-12 academic year.

The WHL Scholarship recipients are enrolled as full-time students in 71 different post-secondary institutions throughout North America.

This season 154 of the 300 WHL Scholarship recipients are furthering their education while playing elite hockey in the Canadian Inter-university Sport (CIS) Association. In Western Canada 111 of these student athletes are playing in the Canada West University Conference and have combined their WHL Scholarship with additional financial assistance from their University to receive Western Canada’s Premier Hockey Scholarship.

The University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) leads the way with 33 WHL graduates enrolled in full time studies while 28 former WHL players are registered at the University of Alberta (Edmonton). The University of Manitoba (Winnipeg) also boasts 28 WHL graduates who are attending full time classes. The University of Calgary has 25 former WHL players enrolled, the University of Lethbridge has 16 WHL graduates, the University of Regina has 15 and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver 11 WHL graduates enrolled in full time studies.

Among the 2011-12 WHL Scholarship recipients, 56 WHL graduates are enrolled at Universities in Eastern Canada with 43 currently playing hockey in the Ontario and Atlantic Conferences of the CIS. Another 54 WHL graduates are enrolled at a Canadian College or other post-secondary institution, with 12 playing hockey in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) or the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL), and 9 are attending other post-secondary institutions throughout North America.

Administered by the WHL office, the WHL Scholarship is solely funded by the member Clubs of the WHL. This season WHL Clubs will contribute $1.6 million to graduates utilizing the WHL Scholarship.

“The WHL and our 22 Member Clubs are very proud to be the leading provider of hockey scholarships in Western Canada”, commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “The WHL takes great pride in continuing to provide our current and graduate players with the most comprehensive education and scholarship program available in North America today.”

All players who play in the WHL are eligible to receive the WHL scholarship. For every season a player plays in the WHL, they receive a full year guaranteed WHL Scholarship, including tuition, textbooks and compulsory fees, to a post-secondary institution of their choice. In addition, over 100 current WHL players are receiving financial assistance to enroll in post secondary classes while playing in the WHL, including 75 studying at the Athabasca University. The WHL and Athabasca University have partnered to offer, through online and other distance education vehicles, fully accredited university courses to any WHL player interested in further pursuing post-secondary studies while playing in the WHL.

The WHL continues to be the leading provider of Hockey Scholarships in Western Canada. Since 1993, the Western Hockey League has awarded more than 4,300 Scholarships to graduate players, representing a contribution of more than $13.5 million.

The WHL Scholarship is considered to be the most attractive hockey scholarship due to the fact it is a fully guaranteed academic scholarship with no requirement to play university hockey to qualify, and the student athlete can apply the funding to any post-secondary program of his choice.

The WHL gratefully acknowledges the support of Husky Energy as an Associate Partner of the WHL Education Program.

 

The Hockey Alberta Foundation is pleased to announce the 2011 post-secondary student scholarship winners through the Future Leaders Scholarship program. Each recipient was awarded a $1000 scholarship in recognition of their excellent leadership skills in Hockey Alberta’s Future Leaders Development Program. 

In addition to the $1000 scholarships, the Hockey Alberta Foundation also granted two Distinguished Future Leader Scholarships for $3000. These awards went to student leaders who demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication throughout the program, which is operated by Hockey Alberta each year. The recipients of the Distinguished Future Leader Scholarships for 2011 are Brandin Cote and Cody Reynolds.

“The Hockey Alberta Foundation is very proud to award these funds to some of Alberta’s brightest young leaders in Hockey,” said Gary Seher, chairman, Hockey Alberta Foundation. “This year’s group of students was exceptional and we look forward to their continued involvement in communities and programs in Alberta in the years to come.”

The Hockey Alberta Future Leaders program identifies and trains University and College students who aspire to become future coaches and/or volunteers in Hockey. The Future Leaders Scholarship program awards the top student leaders with scholarships for their demonstration of leadership and excellence throughout the program.

Fred Rinne/Sun Media - A patch or frozen water; a crisp whiff in the air that sets the nostril afire; the sound of steel blades slicing a song of seductive swagger; a bunch of players chasing a frozen disc, hoping to put that thing between the opposition’s pipes before - and more often - than they can respond.

It doesn’t get much more Canadian than that.

And outdoors, without aid of roof, the snow bank as both bench and boards, is where so many of this country’s great hockey talents learned their trade.

In 2003, the NHL, in partnership with the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadians, hosted the first outdoor NHL game in the modern era at Commonwealth Stadium. A crowd pushing 60,000 braved brutally cold -30 elements that day to watch the spectacle.

Since that time, the event has become an annual occurrence with games played in Buffalo, Chicago, Boston and the experiment has been expanded to two games this season, with Calgary hosting the Habs at McMahon Stadium Feb. 20 and the Penguins hosting Washington at Heinz Field on the now-traditional New Year’s Day date.

Enter the AJHL and more specifically the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.

Always progressive on marketing the community, their franchise, and the league, the braintrust of the MOB are ready to host the first outdoor Junior A hockey game in the world.

On Friday, Nov. 26, the Barons will host the Drayton Valley Thunder in the "Northern Classic, which is a recreational, cultural, and spirit-building celebration that is intended to challenge the fallacy of the negative image often used to portray Fort McMurray and the Wood Buffalo region. The classic setting of Canadiana, surrounded by the picturesque boreal forest, on a true northern landscape offers the perfect canvas on which to write history," says the organizing committee.

"The Oil Barons and the Wood Buffalo region treat the AJHL as a top priority, elevating the League’s status across the Province and Canada. This event will only continue the momentum that the Oil Barons have within the community and as a member within the AJHL," says AJHL VP of Marketing Ryan Bartoshyk.

The Northern Classic will be playing in a temporary stadium built with a capacity of 5,000 seats and hosted at MacDonald Island Park.

"This event is pond hockey - Fort McMurrary style," said Sheldon Germain, chairman of the Northern Classic Organizing Committee. "This amazing venue will be enjoyed by local, provincial and national media and 5,000 fans."

With the League OK and a date fixed, tickets for the Northern Classic went on sale at 8 a.m. on Oct. 15, and the event sold out in only 54 minutes.4,400 tickets gone in a blink of an eye.
"Did I think we would sell out in 54 minutes? No way!" said Tim Reid, co-chairman.

A 22-person committee has spearheaded the event, and Boutilier says the group has done the community, the franchise and the league proud.

"I think there are 16 great communities in this league and we all have a lot to offer, and I think if we get together and take opportunities such as these...together... it will benefit the AJHL as a whole. I’m really excited about it."

"We often get focused on what our own teams are doing, but I think we all need to look at the bigger picture," he said.

The opposing Thunder are guided by Fran Gow, who, as head coach and GM of the Barons’ club in 2000, captured a league title and won the Royal Bank Cup. This is the 10-year anniversary of that accomplishment, and as such there are many events around the game designed to celebrate that win.

"That’s really the Fort McMurray way of doing things," says Gow.

"That 2000 RBC experience was unforgettable, a great time and this is really a wonderful opportunity to remember that... to have a lot of the people involved and back to celebrate. I really appreciate the opportunity that the Oil Barons have asked us to be a part of."

Both Gow and Oil Barons bench boss and GM Gord Thibodeau have tossed aside the usual coach-to-media speak in advance of this game. While both know this is just ’another game’ on the AJHL schedule, they also know this is not any other contest.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," says Thibodeau, who recently coached his 1,000 AJHL contest.

"While we remain focused on the task at hand, there’s no doubt it’s on their minds, and we recognize that this is the first-time ever in Junior A hockey history and it’s important everyone is a part of that," he says.

And with that spirit in mind, both the AJHL and Hockey Canada have given a special one-game dispensation to allow both teams to dress their entire 23-player rosters for this game, so each can get a taste of the experience.

"That could be the most interesting storyline," says Gow.

"How we manage a bench that size."

Thibodeau agrees.

’It would be very unfortunate to have a player on your roster not being able to take part in the game for roster reasons," he says. "Having them all being able to play and enjoy that once-in-a-lifetime experience is really special."

AJHL president Craig T. Cripps said this is also an outstanding opportunity for the league as it will showcase the AJHL on national scale.

"The Alberta Junior Hockey League is ecstatic for the opportunity to have its players and teams participate in this historic event," he said.

"This could not have been possible without the full support of our sponsors and the municipality," says Boutilier. "The legacy of the infrastructure is huge, and the fact we will always be the first Junior A outdoor game, that speaks to the progressive nature of our community, our franchise and our league and I think that’s important to remember."

"Let’s hope the weather co-operates."

Current projections for game day... -6.8.

Just right.

On November 13, 2011, Kyle Fundytus of Edmonton, tragically passed away at the age of 16 years.

Kyle will be sadly missed and forever remembered by his loving parents, Laurie and Sue; his sister and best friend, Jenny; grandmother, Yvonne Foisy; and Dido, William Fundytus. He is also survived by numerous aunts and uncles, cousins, school mates, many friends and his hockey family.

Prayers will be held on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 7508 - 29 Avenue, Edmonton where a Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated on Friday, November 18, 2011 at 10:30 a.m.

Fundytus passed away in Edmonton. Fundytus was playing for the South Side Athletic Club’s (SSAC) Don Wheaton Midget AA team at the Clareview Arena when he was struck in the neck by the puck during a hockey game against the Maple Leaf Athletic Club (MLAC) Saturday afternoon. Fundytus was rushed to the hospital, but succumbed to the injury.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Fundytus family and to all the athletes and staff of both the SSAC and MLAC hockey teams during this difficult time,” said Hockey Alberta President, Rob Virgil. “This was a tragic accident that has deeply affected the hockey community in Alberta. Our focus right now is to ensure the emotional & psychological needs of those involved are being looked after.”

Hockey Alberta and BC Hockey announced Tuesday the 22-player roster that will represent Team Pacific at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, December 29, 2011 – January 4, 2012 in Windsor, Ontario.

Team Pacific is comprised of 11 players from BC and 11 players from Alberta. Each province held a provincial camp over the summer to identify a set number of players. These players were evaluated during the first part of the club team season by a selected group of high performance evaluators.

“We’re very excited about the talented group of athletes we’re bringing to this competition,” said Team Pacific Head Coach, Michael Dyck. “We feel we have the right pieces in place to compete against the top teams in Windsor next month.”

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2011 TEAM PACIFIC ROSTER

“Now that the team is solidified, we can focus on bringing this group together and preparing them to compete at a very high level,” added Dyck. “Preparation is key for a short-term competition like this and we look forward to beginning the process with the 22 players.

The 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will bring together the top players in the world born in 1995 or later. The tournament is made up of 10 teams; five (5) from Canada - Quebec, Ontario, Pacific (Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon), Atlantic (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) and West (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut), and five (5) International teams - Germany, Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic and the United States.

Team Pacific has included some of the top hockey players that Canada has ever produced.  Some notable graduates who have competed on Team Pacific include:

• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2010

• Joe Sakic, Team Pacific 1986

• Jarome Iginla, Team Pacific 1994

• Brent Seabrook, Team Pacific 2002

• Dion Phaneuf, Team Pacific 2002

• Mike Green, Team Pacific 2002

• Evander Kane, Team Pacific 2008

The Under 17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence.  Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under 18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

At the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg, Manitoba Team Pacific finished third winning the bronze medal.