PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Six of Canada’s top Midget teams are ready for puck-drop when the 2017 TELUS Cup, Canada’s National Midget Championship, kicks off in Prince George, B.C., April 24-30.

The hosts and B.C. Major Midget League champions, the Cariboo Cougars , will be joined by five regional representatives (Atlantic – Cape Breton West Islanders; Central – Mississauga Rebels; Pacific – Leduc Oil Kings; Quebec – Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François; and West – Regina Pat Canadians) who will be looking to capture gold at the CN Centre.

Hockey Canada, in partnership with B.C. Hockey, announced Prince George as the host-city for Canada’s 44th National Midget Championship in September 2015. The northern B.C. community also hosted the event in 2001 when it was known as the Air Canada Cup. This is the fourth time for the event to be held in the province, with Victoria (1982) and Kamloops (1996) also serving as hosts.

The tournament opens at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET when the Atlantic champions from Cape Breton face Séminaire Saint-François, the Quebec champions, followed by the Central titlists from Mississauga taking on the West champions from Regina. The host Cariboo Cougars wrap up opening-day action against Leduc, the Pacific representatives, at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET. 

The host committee announced single-game tickets are now available for purchase at the CN Centre or online at Ticketmaster.ca. “We’re excited to be able to make these games affordable for all families, which is made possible by the great support we have received from the business community,” said 2017 TELUS Cup host-committee co-chairs Shawn Rice and John Morrison. Preliminary-round games are $5 each, semifinals are $10, and bronze- and gold-medal game tickets are $15 each.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcaster partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast the gold-medal game on Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET. Check your local listings for details. All preliminary-round games and the bronze-medal game can be seen live via HockeyTV webcast at HockeyCanada.ca/TELUSCup. 

A number of future NHLers have taken part in Canada’s National Midget Championship since its inception in 1974, including 53 first-round draft picks, three No. 1 selections (Gord Kluzak, Wendel Clark and Sidney Crosby), and eight future Hockey Hall of Fame inductees (Glenn Anderson, Ron Francis, Mike Gartner, Al MacInnis, Larry Murphy, Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, and Steve Yzerman).

For more information on the TELUS Cup, visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow the tournament via social media on Facebook or Twitter.