The puck drops Thursday morning at the John Reid Memorial Tournament in St. Albert.
In the 16-team draw, four divisions are split into two pools to determine the playoff pairings in the A, B and C brackets at Performance, Mark Messier, Troy Murray and Akinsdale arenas.
The A semifinals go Saturday at 1:45 p.m. at Mark Messier and 2:15 p.m. at Troy Murray. The A final is Sunday at 2 p.m. at Performance.
The only St. Albert team to win the tournament was the 1983 Territorial Leasing Sabres.
The complete schedule for the 33rd annual St. Albert bantam AAA tournament is on page 73.
The website is www.johnreidmemorial.com.
John Reid pool
In the Freson Bros.’ division, the host St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres play the Red Deer Rebels White at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, Phoenix Junior Coyotes at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Burnaby at 2:15 p.m. Friday at Performance.
The Skybox Grill division includes the Airdrie Xtreme, Notre Dame Hounds, Spruce Grove PAC Saints and Seafair Islanders.
Jarome Iginla pool
The Access Pipeline division is comprised of the Calgary Bisons, Winnipeg Hawks, Kelowna Pursuit of Excellence Academy and Sherwood Park Flyers.
The City Ford division features the Kamloops Jardine Blazers, Leduc Oil Kings, Calgary Royals and SSAC Southgate Lions.
Tickets
A four-day tournament pass is $40 for adults ($30 with no program) and $25 for students and seniors ($18 with no program).
Daily admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors.
It’s free admission for children 10 and under. There is no charge for Raiders Hockey Club and St. Albert Minor Hockey Association players with jackets.
A tournament program is $10.
Meanwhile, volunteers will be accepting donations to the St. Albert Food Bank throughout the tournament.
Opening ceremonies
Thursday’s opening ceremonies at Performance start at 7 p.m.
As part of the proceedings, the $1,000 John Reid Memorial Scholarship will be awarded. Previous recipients were Justin Kueber and Joshua Maeda.
Awards banquet
Edmonton Oilers assistant coach Ralph Krueger is the guest speaker at Saturday’s tournament banquet, starting at 6 p.m. at Mayfield Inn.
The highlight of the night is the presentation of the John Reid Memorial Award for heart and hustle to a St. Albert Sabres player. Previous winners were Jake Mykitiuk, Jed Groenenboom, Josh Winquist, Ryan Harrison, Steve Wall, Blaine Bokenfohr and Nate Fleming.
The tournament’s MVP award winners and all-star team selections will also be announced.
