The Lloydminster Steelers will play host to the 2022 Esso Cup, Hockey Canada announced Wednesday. (Twitter/J. Ashley Nixon)

By Martin Martinson

Hockey Headlines

Lloydminster to host 2022 Esso Cup

May 27, 2020 | 5:17 PM

It’s a big day for up and coming female hockey players in the region.

Hockey Canada announced today Lloydminster will play host to the 2022 Esso Cup for Canada’s U-18 Woman’s Club Championship.

Lloydminster was originally scheduled to host the tournament during the summer of 2021. The city was bumped to 2022 to allow Prince Albert to retain hosting duties after this year’s championship, which they were slated to host, was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The 2022 Esso Cup will mark Lloydminster’s fourth time hosting the tournament and the 13^th year of the event, overall.

President of Battlefords Minor Hockey, Kyle Kellgren, said with the continued focus and attention on female hockey in the Battlefords community, the idea of a national tournament less than two hours up the road offers a great goal for young players.

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“Battlefords Minor Hockey over the last quite a few years, has put a focus on female hockey in the northwest region of the province,” Kellgren said. “We’ve done a lot of work with our AAA club, our AA club, [U-18], and Bantam AA, and there’s girls in peewee now. It would be huge for the area, just to show these girls that there will be great hockey and it won’t be that far to watch. It gives them something to work towards.”

Kellgren added if the local team is able to continue to build into a group that can contend for a spot at the national tournament, it would be a memorable experience.

“They’ll have two years to put a squad together that can make a definite run,” Kellgren said. “We have a new coach this year with the AAA Sharks that’s really excited to get going and that’s been all about recruiting, and building to try to make it to that cup which really isn’t that far away. It would be pretty special to watch a national championship an hour and-a-half away and be able to play in it for sure.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1