On the heels of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last winter, another national  sporting event is coming to Cape Breton.

Membertou First Nation will host the 2021 national boys midget hockey championship.

Being named host of the Telus Cup was the worst-kept sports secret in town, but it was still music to the ears of a standing-room-only crowd on Wednesday.

"This is second to none," said Randy Pulsifer of Hockey Canada. "Just by coming here, and seeing the hotel beside the arena beside the food vendors. Everything's in place here."

With a hotel and restaurant connected by pedway, and a modern sports complex with two ice pads that's just a couple of years old, this Mi'kmaq community had all of the bells and whistles to win over the selection committee.

"Last year, we held the national aboriginal championships here which had twenty teams," said Paul Carroll the general manager of the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre. "Obviously, we did a great job there. I think that helped us in the bidding process here to bring back a national championship."

The last time the tournament was held in Nova Scotia was 22 years ago in New Glasgow, when it was called the Air Canada Cup.

Two years ago, the Cape Breton West Islanders became the only Atlantic Canadian team ever to win the event.

It's an event that's seen future NHLers -- including Sidney Crosby -- suit up over the years.

"They know that they're being watched by every scout and every team on the go," said MacKinley. "And that's the goal of most of these young players -- to make it to the NHL."

Players on the host team, the Sydney Rush, are expecting big crowds.

"I'm sure you'll have people that haven't come out to watch our games, and they'll be out there in the rink, and it'll really bring us together as a community," said Rush defenceman Alex MacKinnon.

While Membertou and all of its amenities are being touted as the main reason the bid was successful, the hope is that everyone in town for the tournament will be spending their money elsewhere too -- resulting in millions of dollars in spinoffs.

"There's going to be a lot of visitors to your city," said Pulsifer. "And they're not just going to spend their time in the arena.  They're going to spend their time in hotels and restaurants seeing what Cape Breton has to offer."

The tournament is set for April 19-25, 2021.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald.