By Mike Dennis, Hockey Alberta /
Suiting up with some of the NHL’s biggest stars is a dream for most peewee aged hockey players, but for a select few, those dreams became reality as part of Hockey Alberta’s Peewee Skills Challenge.
After proving their skills at zone camps around the province, 80 of the most talented peewee hockey players from Northern Alberta and 80 from Southern Alberta were selected to compete in their respective Peewee Skills Provincial Final, one in the North and one in the South.
“We test the players in five different areas; hardest shot, fastest skater, shooting accuracy, passing accuracy and agility skating. This is a great opportunity to see how each player matches up with other elite players from across the province,” said Hockey Alberta’s Coordinator of Player Development, Drew Dixon.
But the stakes at the Provincial Finals were a lot higher than what many of these young peewee studs are used to. When it was all said and done, the top 16 skaters at each competition were invited to take part in either the Edmonton Oilers Skills Competition or the Calgary Flames Super Skills Competition in front of near capacity crowds at Rexall Place or the Pengrowth Saddledome.
“You can tell that each one of the participants put in their best effort forward in hopes of testing their skills out against their NHL heroes. It’s a very rewarding experience for the everyone involved and one they won’t forget, especially for the top 16,” added Dixon.
Peewee player, Josh McKechney, was one of the lucky finalists who earned a spot to test his talent at the Calgary Flames Super Skills competition.
“It was a great experience for me and I thought I learned a lot. The Flames were very friendly and Jarome Iginla is a great guy,” said McKechney.
In addition to testing their skills against some of the best players in the game, all the finalists’ were outfitted with either a Flames or Oilers skills competition jersey and socks as well as the chance to tour the NHL locker room and meet their NHL idols for autographs.
The Peewee Skills Challenge process starts each year in the fall. Hockey Alberta uses state of the art technology to time and evaluate the different skills. All the test results are available via the Hockey Alberta website. For more information visit www.hockeyalberta.ca. |