February 1, 2006
NR015

LETTERS OF INTENT TO BID FOR
THE 2009 IIIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
RECEIVED BY HOCKEY CANADA

CALGARY, AB – Hockey Canada announced on Wednesday that seven groups have submitted a letter of intent to host the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship. Hockey Canada received letters of intent from the following groups (alphabetical order):

· Calgary/Edmonton, AB
· London, ON
· Montreal, QC
· Ottawa, ON
· Quebec City, QC
· Saskatoon, SK
· Toronto, ON

Hockey Canada began the bid process for the hosting of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship on October 13, 2005 by making the bid guidelines available. The 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship will take place in late December 2008 through early January 2009.

Hockey Canada Bid process timelines for the hosting of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.

· February 1, 2006 - Deadline for Letter of Intent to submit bid
· March 31, 2006 – Deadline for submission of bid presentations to Hockey Canada
· April 2006 - In-person Bid Presentations to the 2009 Site Selection Committee
· May 2006 - Hockey Canada’s Board of Directors determines site for 2009 IIHF WJHC, and then it is brought to IIHF for approval

Hockey Canada was awarded the opportunity to host both the 2009 and 2012 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in May 2005 at the IIHF’s Annual Congress. The 2012 WJHC bid process will take place at a later date.

The 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship Site Selection Committee is comprised of Bob Nicholson (President, Hockey Canada), René Marcil (Chair of the Board, Hockey Canada), David Branch (President, Canadian Hockey League) and resource person Scott Smith (Hockey Canada’s Senior Vice-president, Business Operations). This committee will review all bids and recommend a site to Hockey Canada’s Board of Directors.

Canada recently hosted the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship in British Columbia that broke records in attendance, television viewership and is expected to generate a profit in excess of $8 million.

Canada has hosted the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship a total of seven times. Past Canadian host cities were Vancouver/Kamloops/Kelowna, BC (2006),Halifax/Sydney, NS (2003), Winnipeg (1999), Red Deer (1995), Saskatoon (1991), Hamilton (1986) and Montreal (1978).