ESTEVAN -- The City of Estevan and Estevan Bruins put a year of work into making Thursday’s announcement a reality.
For the first time in the organization’s history, the Bruins will have the opportunity to host the Centennial Cup national junior ‘A’ hockey championship in 2022.
They were initially bidding for the 2021 edition of the tournament, however, that went to Penticton, B.C.
“But because you guys had such a good bid, 2022 is on the board if you want to take it and we jumped at that opportunity and we’re super excited to be hosting this even on a national scale in 2022,” Bruins President Cory Prokop said.
Ticket package details will be announced at a later date.
The Host Committee is expecting an economic impact of over $3-million for the area.
They’re also projecting 180 volunteers will be needed for the event.
“Estevan is no stranger to that, we’ve recently hosted the Saskatchewan Summer Games, the Canada Cup of Curling, provincial curling tankards where they use approximately that many volunteers, so a lot of these guys are seasoned volunteers,” Greg Hoffort, co-chair of the host committee, said.
The two years of planning will also serve the Bruins well on the ice.
The team went with a younger roster this season in anticipation of hosting the Centennial Cup in two years.
“We see a lot of our finest young players that we’ve had in a long time maturing at 20 years old in that season, so I think we’re set up very well,” Estevan Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood said. “Of course, recruiting becomes an important part of the puzzle, we’ve got to continue to recruit really well and add some more pieces to it, but I think the team is in great shape.”
The Bruins have ten current players that will be eligible for the team when they host the Centennial Cup in 2022.
