December 09, 2011
Posted in Alberta Edition, Minor, Tournament Previews
By Ryan Laverty /
While the debate continues amongst historians and locals from Windsor, Halifax and Montreal on the true birthplace of hockey, there is one thing all the debaters can’t refute – the sport started on a frozen skiff outside in the dead of winter.
And beginning on Jan. 26, 36 minor hockey teams from the Capital Region will get a chance to taste a bit of that history for themselves on the outdoor ice at the 20th Annual Stan Gantar Memorial Hockey tournament at the Kilkenny Community League.
“For a lot of our kids today, they’ve never had the opportunity to feel what it’s like to play outside, so it is a big draw for a lot of teams,” said tournament coordinator Anthony Pisani. “We have a lot of teams that keep asking to come back every year, so it is an experience that a lot of people seem to enjoy.”
While it may lack the glitz and glamour of an NHL production on New Year’s Day, the Gantar tournament still brings together a healthy dose of competition for players of numerous ages. This year’s event will feature nine divisions ranging between Initiation and Bantam.
“It is an invitational tournament but any team can apply, it’s just up to the host team to determine whether that team will be the right level of competition,” Pisani explained. “We want to make sure that every game is going to be close so that every player gets the most enjoyment out of it they can. It’s not fun for anyone to have a game finish, 15-1.”
While the competition certainly makes a large component of the tournament’s cache, Pisani admitted that the setting is what creates the lasting memories. So far, 18 of 36 slots are filled for the tournament and there is broad representation from Edmonton and its surrounding communities. Given that the tournament runs for 11 days over the course of several evenings and two weekends, Pisani said he can’t really accommodate teams from more than an hour outside of Edmonton.
Stan Gantar was the father of three boys and a founding member of the Kilkenny Community League. He passed away in 1990 and the tournament was set up in his honour to provide a unique hockey experience for Micromite and Tom Thumb hockey players who, at the time, did not compete in the annual Minor Hockey Week tournament. The tournament is now a Hockey Alberta sanctioned event and has been moved into late January so as not to conflict with MHW events.
For more information on the tournament or to register please contact Pisani at 780-475-7915 or by email at outdoor.hockey@gmail.com.
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