Penticton still expecting to host Young Stars tournament in 2018
Some respected hockey writers have suggested the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars tournament may not return to Penticton this September, but officials responsible for organizing the event insist it will — in some form.
“Young Stars is a fantastic tournament and the City of Penticton does a tremendous job as host,” Canucks president Trevor Linden said in a statement Monday.
“While the format and number of participating teams may change, we’ve confirmed our continued participation this year. We’ll have more details to share in the near future.”
That message was echoed Monday in a separate statement from Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit, who has served as chairman of the organizing committee since the event’s inception in 2010.
“There will be another Young Stars Classic this year involving NHL teams,” said Jakubeit.
“It is a partnership with the city and the other participating NHL teams. Our job locally is to put on the event and host the teams. The Canucks are the ones that liaise with the other teams as to their participation.”
Jakubeit said the fans, city and South Okanagan Events Centre “have always been well received” by participating clubs that send their top prospects to do battle with each other, but “each year teams assess what is the best fit or direction for their organization, so there never has been a formal multiyear deal to host.”
The mayor expects a formal announcement on the future of the tournament “soon.”
Speculation about the Young Stars was triggered last week when Jim Matheson, who covers the Oilers for the Edmonton Journal, took to Twitter to suggest he’d heard the tournament “might not go” this year because some scouts found the calibre of players at the 2017 edition to be “disappointing.”
More fuel was added to the fire on Sunday when Jason Botchford, who covers the Canucks for The Vancouver Province, wrote that the Calgary Flames had been trying to move the tournament to Red Deer “for years.”
“Sure, the Okanagan has been crushing it since 2010, but other teams want a piece of the action, and there’s lots of action to be had,” Botchford added. “One of the ideas tabled was that the tournament would be moved around on a rotating basis.”
The tournament, which last year attracted top prospects from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and the Winnipeg Jets, sells in the neighbourhood of 20,000 tickets annually, and leaves an economic impact once estimated in the range of $2 million.