National hockey tournament coming to Cape Breton First Nation community

The 2021 national major midget hockey championships will be played at a Cape Breton First Nation reserve.

The Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre and the Sydney Mitsubishi Rush hockey team have been selected to host the 2021 Telus Cup.

Alex MacKinnon, a player on the Rush, is excited for the opportunity to play in front of scouts and against the best players in the country in his age group.

"This is national, so you're talking tons of scouts from all over Canada coming in just to watch us," he said.

"It's quite the honour."

Hockey Canada director Randy Pulsifer said the championships are a tremendous opportunity for Cape Breton because the tournament will bring lots of parents, fans, media and hockey scouts to Membertou.

"They're not just going to spend their time in the arena," he said. "They're going to spend their time in hotels, restaurants and seeing what Cape Breton has to offer."

The tournament is a staging ground for quality players looking to further their hockey dreams.

In 2017, the Cape Breton West Islanders won the tournament. One of the stars of that team, Colten Ellis, was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 2019 NHL entry draft.

This will be the national tournament's first time being played in Cape Breton. The tournament was previously held in Halifax (1981), Dartmouth (1992) and New Glasgow (1997), when the event was known as the Air Canada Cup.

Brad MacKinley, vice-president of hockey operations for Hockey Nova Scotia, said Cape Breton has shown tremendous support for other hockey competitions, such as Riverview High School's Red Cup tournament.

He said that support is going to make the 2021 Telus Cup a success.

"I'm positive we'll have a great crowd," said MacKinley.

The 48th edition of the national midget championship will take place April 19-25, 2021.

MORE TOP STORIES