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Hockey Alberta Foundation

Photo credit: MT Action Photography


Teammate of the Month - Sport Central

RED DEER - The Hockey Alberta Foundation is proud to recognize Sport Central as its TEAMMATE of the month for June.

The Hockey Alberta Foundation and Sport Central first partnered together in 2014. Sport Central’s goal is to gather, recycle and redistribute sports equipment to children who would otherwise be denied the opportunity to participate in sports, which aligns with the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s Every Kid Every Community program.

"With funding from the (Hockey Alberta) Foundation, over 20 different communities across northern Alberta have received needed sports equipment and support," said Sheldon Oleksyn, Executive Director of Sport Central. "In many of these communities, registrations in Minor Hockey have shot-up overnight as a result. In the rest, hundreds of low-income children without the resources to play have been able to get into the game for the first time. They confirm the fact that accessible equipment means access to the game. Equipment is a key catalyst to participation."

Sport Central was formed in Edmonton in 1991, and has since provided over 125,000 low-income families with the necessary equipment to participate in the sport of their choice.

"Funding by the Hockey Alberta Foundation has extended the reach of Sport Central’s Outreach Program," said Oleksyn. "The Program has fingers across Northern Alberta to communities requesting help to get more disadvantaged children into the game. With Hockey Alberta having connections into every community from Red Deer to the north, and the equipment needs supplied by Sport Central, a joint partnership between us has shown impressive results over the past three years! Thank you Hockey Alberta Foundation for your leadership and initiative!"

The Hockey Alberta Foundation would like to thank Sport Central for their support of the Every Kid Every Community program, and for being a great TEAMMATE!

Home Ice Feature

Photo credit: Brian Gavriloff - Edmonton Journal


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].

Home Ice Feature

Brooks Bandits defenceman Cale Makar speaks to the media after being selected in the first round, fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche (Photo credit: College Hockey Inc.)


Thirteen Albertans selected at 2017 NHL Entry Draft

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
Player Team Position Hometown

FIRST ROUND

13th Jake Bean (Calgary Hitmen) Carolina Hurricanes Defence Calgary
30th Sam Steel (Regina Pats) Anaheim Ducks Forward Sherwood Park

SECOND ROUND

32nd Tyler Benson (Vancouver Giants) Edmonton Oilers Forward Edmonton
48th Carter Hart (Everett Silvertips) Philadelphia Flyers Goalie Sherwood Park
51st Kale Clague (Brandon Wheat Kings) Los Angeles Kings Defence Lloydminster
56th Dillon Dube (Kelowna Rockets) Calgary Flames Forward Cochrane

THIRD ROUND

74th Hudson Elynuik (Spokane Chiefs) Carolina Hurricanes Forward Calgary
82nd Carsen Twarynski (Calgary Hitmen) Philadelphia Flyers Forward Calgary
85th Joshua Mahura (Red Deer Rebels) Anaheim Ducks Defence Edmonton

FOURTH ROUND

111th Noah Gregor (Moose Jaw Warriors) San Jose Sharks Forward Beaumont

FIFTH ROUND

133rd Maxime Lajoie (Swift Current Broncos) Ottawa Senators Defence Calgary
144th Conner Bleackley (Red Deer Rebels) St. Louis Blues Forward High River

SIXTH ROUND

159th Brandon Hagel (Red Deer Rebels) Buffalo Sabres Forward Morinville
166th Matthew Phillips (Victoria Royals) Calgary Flames Forward Calgary

SEVENTH ROUND

200th David Quenneville (Medicine Hat Tigers) New York Islanders Defence Edmonton
204th Brayden Chizen (Kelowna Rockets) Minnesota Wild Defence St. Albert

Home Ice Feature

Photo credit: LA Media - lamediadesign.photoshelter.com


Six Albertans invited to Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Goaltending Camp

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].