Moncton Wildcats to host top NHL prospects game next year
Moncton Wildcats to host top NHL prospects game next year
The top junior hockey players in Canada are set to compete in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton, N.B., next year.
The announcement was made at the Avenir Centre in front of a large crowd of season ticketholders, the mayor and city councillors. The Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) will host the game on Jan. 24, 2024, at the Avenir Centre.
Robert K. Irving, president of the Moncton Wildcats, says hosting the game gives him a sense of pride.
"We know we have a great facility here for hosting hockey events,” said Irving after the announcement Friday.
“The Avenir Centre is the best in the CHL as far as we're concerned. And the Wildcats organization, we have great people that are involved in running the organization and to be able to bring in the best players in the world is fantastic.”
The game is a chance for top NHL prospects to boost their stock ahead of the entry draft.
The game will see the best draft-eligible players from the Ontario Hockey League, QMJHL and Western Hockey League compete before hundreds of NHL scouts. It’s the 28th time this game has been played. Halifax hosted it in 2013, and Vancouver hosted it last year.
Some notable players who competed in the match-up over the years include Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall and John Tavares.
Irving was asked if Moncton will submit a bid for the 2025 Memorial Cup the next time the QMJHL hosts the event, though Saint John played host last year.
"Oh yes, for sure. I think we will be there every time it comes back to the Quebec league because we've got the best arena in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to host the Memorial Cup. There's no doubt about it, no doubt about it in our mind," said Irving.
Dan MacKenzie, president of the CHL, says the league is “thrilled” to bring the game to Moncton for the first time.
“With a surplus of CHL talent eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, we look forward to bringing the stars of tomorrow to the Maritimes,” said MacKenzie in a Friday News release.
The downtown arena was filled to or near capacity for every game during the holiday tournament.
Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton CEO John Wishart believes Friday’s announcement could be a stepping-stone for bigger events.
“You know, it was a slam dunk both in Halifax and in Moncton,” said Wishart. “So the Top Prospects Game is the next step up. I think you'll probably see Moncton bid for the QMJHL draft probably the year after and then the Memorial Cup.”
Wishart said Moncton is definitely on Canada’s hockey map right now.
“I wasn’t privy to the negotiations with the CHL, but I suspect it wasn’t a hard sell to bring the Top Prospects Game here after what the league and Hockey Canada saw during the World Juniors,” said Wishart.
Craig Eagles, a QMJHL scout for Neutral Zone, believes more than just a state-of-the-art arena was needed in order to bring the Top Prospects Game to Moncton.
“When you attract major events and you have a facility like the Avenir Centre, you're going to attract more of those events. But it's the city, it's the community that supports these events that really leave a lasting impression and a lasting impact,” said Eagles.
Eagles said the players will be in the city for three days, a huge opportunity for scouts to get more familiar with them.
“Obviously, it’s a one-off event, but it’s a great opportunity for all NHL scouts and scouting institutions to come evaluate players,” said Eagles.
“The testing that they do for the days leading up to the event is really intriguing. Plus, you get to see what those players are like behind the scenes, off the ice as well as on the ice.”
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston is being questioned by MPs at committee about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest.
The number of interactions between killer whales and humans has increased alarmingly in recent years. CTVNews.ca asked an expert to explain the reasons behind the increase in interactions, explore the types of encounters, and examine the implications for both humans and killer whales.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering Europe's largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.
A huge Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine was breached on Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across the war zone.
Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on 'The Girl from Ipanema' made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, has died at age 83.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it has safely restarted a portion of its production that was shut down because of the threat of wildfires in northern and central Alberta.
A 53-year-old man was shot and killed in the Montreal suburb of Dorval on Monday afternoon. A source told CTV News that the victim is Francesco Del Balso, who has links to Montreal's Mafia.
The numerous forest fires raging in certain regions of Quebec have led to thousands of evacuations since the weekend and continue to threaten infrastructure on Tuesday. Temporary accommodation centres have been opened in nine municipalities on the Côte-Nord, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, to accommodate evacuees.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Edmonton police launched a new tool Monday to encourage reports of "hate incidents," something officers believe will help them track people who may escalate to "hate crimes."
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
While firefighters get more forest fires under control in northern Ontario, travel restrictions declared under an emergency order are being expanded in several communities.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
On this day in 2021, four out of five members of a London, Ont. family were killed while they were out for a walk and struck by a vehicle, in an apparently deliberate attack.
One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Lambton County. The crash happened June 2 just before 9:30 p.m. and officers responded to a ditch on Shiloh Line in Petrolia.
A Ukrainian woman who now lives in Winnipeg is hoping one day she will be able to bring her husband's remains to her new home, a place he hoped one day he too would be able to call home.
Officials are asking people living around Centennial Lake to evacuate their homes as a forest fire burns in the area west of Calabogie, Ont. An evacuation order has been extended to Wednesday afternoon.
Capital Pride will be receiving money from the federal government to cover costs of added security measures at this year's Pride parade and other events.
While Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) publicly mulled moving its downtown emergency shelter to a location on 20th Street near the city's core, city documents reveal the wellness centre's present Fairhaven area location was heavily favoured early in the process.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
The provincial wildfire service is warning British Columbians to have a go-bag and make an evacuation plan with this year's wildfire season off to an alarming start.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
Real estate experts say B.C.’s housing market is heating back after cooling off due to rising interest rates but the future is uncertain as several economists expect the Bank of Canada to hike rates again.
It’s been 79 years since the war effort known as ‘D-Day,’ which eventually led to the liberation of western Europe during World War II. The day was marked with a service in Normandy with the Royal Regina Rifles on hand.
The province is revealing its housing cards, as 37 more municipalities have been identified as the next group that will be required to create housing targets in their communities to help combat the ongoing housing shortfall.
A wildfire that has been burning out of control on Vancouver Island since Sunday morning is now estimated to cover approximately 20 hectares of dense forest near Port Alberni.
