December 23, 2011
Posted in Ontario Edition, Minor, Tournament Previews
By Daniel Nugent-Bowman /
It started as merely a promise in a mayoral election campaign, but has since morphed into the largest hockey tournament in the world.
The Bell Capital Cup began as an idea by then-Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli to bring a large-scale minor hockey tournament to the nation’s capital.
It took some time, but soon the tournament – which is about to see the puck dropped for the 13th time from Dec. 28 to Jan. 1 – was drawing top local, national and international teams over the holiday period.
And the 2012 event is no different.
According to the tournament website, this year’s Bell Capital Cup will boast 21 boys divisions for children aged nine to 13, two girls divisions, two sledge hockey divisions and an adult floor group, with over 500 players suiting up.
In total, 40 different ice pads will be used, ranging from Stittsville in the west to Hawkesbury – about 100 kilometres east of Ottawa.
The Atom House C division will consist of all local teams from Nepean to Carleton Place and Kanata to Metcalfe.
The Iqaluit Blizzards are the travelling the further to compete in the Atom House B category, where they will faceoff with teams from around the Ottawa region.
The Korea Eagles are the most notable team in the Atom House A grouping and will be in tough against the South End Capitals, Nepean Warriors and Stittsville Angry Birds.
While there are no international teams in the Minor Atom A division, other parts of Ontario like Bradford, Kingston and Barrie will be well represented.
The Minor Atom AA group will feature two international teams in the German Eagles and the Rochester Monarchs.
The Minor Atom AAA division consists of just eight teams, but two of them hail from the United States: the Troy Albany Titans and the Assabet Valley Patriots.
Hearst HLK are coming from the furthest location to compete in the Atom B division, while the Atom A division has teams coming from Collingwood, Petawawa, Binghamton, Texas and Germany.
Teams to highlight in Atom AA are the Providence Capitals and Dallas Alliance Bulldogs, while two Rochester teams, plus singles from Philadelphia, New Jersey and Burnaby, B.C., will compete in the AAA division.
In the Peewee House A group, the Iqaluit Blizzards have another entry and Delegates of Gyeonggido – a team from Korea – are scheduled to compete.
In the Minor Peewee A group, the furthest team will be coming from Mississauga in the Cooksville Phantoms – other than another German Eagles entry.
The Jokerit Blue team will be the youngest team representing Sweden in this year’s tourney in Minor Peewee AA.
Germany, Albany, Rochester and New Hampshire are the most notable teams in the Minor Peewee AAA Brooks division.
The Karhu Kissat Bears and Espoo Blues Yellow – plus the Syracuse Blazers – all have international flavour in the Peewee A group, while the Karhu Kissat Cats and the Greater New York Stars are from outside Canada in Peewee AA.
And in the oldest division – Peewee AAA Chiarelli – the Espoo Blues Blue team, Boston Jr. Terriers, Suffolk PAL, Worchester Crusaders and Valley Forge Minutemen will all be travelling a great distance to Ottawa.
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