Heatley, Sakic, MacInnis and Yzerman - all National Hockey League stars who have another thing in common:
they have all competed in Canada’s National Midget Hockey Championship. They are just a few of the former
National Midget competitors to find their way to the top professional hockey league in the world.
Since 1977, Canada’s National Midget Championship can lay claim to the fact that at least 175 of its
graduates have gone on to the NHL.
Each
year, having showcased their talents in the National Midget competition, many players go on to become
outstanding performers in either the Canadian Hockey League or the college ranks. The most successful of
these subsequently made the jump to the pros.
Over the past 21 years, Canada’s National Midget Championship has annually provided fans with an
outstanding display of Canada's top 16- and 17-year old talent. Proof of this can be made by examining the
latest NHL scoring statistics.
Joe Sakic (Colorado), Dany Heatley (Florida), Al MacInnis (St. Louis), Steve Yzerman (Detroit), Ron
Francis (Carolina), Simon Gagne (Philadelphia), Mike Peca (Islanders) and Rod Brind'amour (Carolina) are
among these graduates at or near the top in scoring with their respective teams, and in some instances, in
the league. Coaches of note have also used the National Midget Championship as a stepping stone to
greater things, such as coach Ken Hitchcock of the Philadelphia Flyers.
In 2005, a new era has begun for Canada’s National Midget Championship. Formerly known as the Air
Canada Cup for the better part of the past 25 years, Canada’s National Midget Championship has a new look, a
new feel and a new name; the TELUS CUP.
The forerunner to the Air Canada Cup was the Wrigley National Midget Hockey Tournament which ran for five
years, 1974 though 1978 inclusive.
At the time, the Wrigley was an invitational event with regions declaring their respective winners through
competition during the Christmas and New Years holidays within each of Canadian Hockey's 11 branch
play-downs. A host team comprised the 12th competitor in the Wrigley played annually in January.
In April 1979, the inaugural Air Canada Cup was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, providing Canada with its
first true national midget club hockey championship. Through a series of play-offs, each of Canadian Hockey's
12 branch champions advanced to the national finals sending its winner to the Air Canada Cup.
In 1984, the Air Canada Cup format was revised to an annual competition involving five regional champions
declared from inter-branch play-downs. A host club comprised the sixth team in the competition. This format
remains today.
The six-day championship builds to the TELUS Cup Championship game, with the semi-final victors meeting in
the final. The final game is broadcast on The Sports Network (TSN) and Le Reseau des Sports (RDS)
Networks.
A tradition of excellence and pride has been adopted by Host Organizing Committee's in the past,
continually building on a successful event. Hockey Canada’s goal is to lend as much support as possible to
the Host Committee each year to help them attain their goal of running an event that not only provides the
competing teams a valuable experience, but leaves a legacy supporting our national game in their
community.
