Robin's hockey tournament to bring 'just shy of 2,500 players' to Thunder Bay, Ont.
The 28th annual Robin's hockey tournament runs from January 17 to 20
Officials with the Robin's hockey tournament in Thunder Bay, Ont. are busy gearing up for one of the largest minor hockey tournaments in Canada for players ages four to 17, with over 100 teams competing in the 28th annual Robin's Minor Hockey Classic Tournament this year.
"We're at 145 teams which is two teams up from last year ... which puts us just shy of 2,500 players this year in the Robin's," said Kelly Mallon, one of the main organizers of the tournament.
He said two Midget teams from Saskatchewan are coming to Thunder Bay for the annual games for the first time, ever.
"Saskatchewan would certainly be the farthest to date travelling to the Robin's tournament," Mallon added. "I don't think we've ever had anybody from Saskatchewan before."
The two Midget teams will arrive in northwestern Ontario on Thursday and participate in the tournament on Friday, Mallon said.
Two teams from Winnipeg, who have been attending the tournament in previous years, are not returning this year, but with two new teams from Saskatchewan participating instead, he hopes more teams out west will participate in the future.
"Sometimes teams just change venues to shake it up a little bit ... so we hope [the Saskatchewan teams] have a great time and Saskatchewan spreads the warmth and we have a few more teams come next year," he said.
This year's tournament runs from January 17 to 20, with the first puck dropping at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday between the Westfort Rangers and the Neebing Hawks.
"It's a one year whole process [and] we start working on next year's tournament the week after this one ends," Mallon said. "[We] definitely couldn't do it without the volunteers."