For the first time in GPAC history, the U15AAA Golden Arrow Storm have been invited to participate in the John Reid Memorial U15AAA Hockey Tournament. To get an idea of the magnitude of this accomplishment, this will be the 44th year that this prestigious event has been hosted, and the first time one of our teams has been extended an invitation!
The John Reid Memorial will be hosted in St. Albert from Jan 13 to 16, 2022. This tournament is one of the premier events of its kind in North America. Named in honor of long-time St. Albert resident, John Reid, who was a passionate player, coach and supporter of the game. This invitational tournament will feature 16 top-caliber U15AAA teams from across Canada. Previous participants have included teams from the US, as well as internationally.
To say this tournament is heavily-scouted would be an understatement. In 2019 over one hundred junior scouts, managers and coaches attended the event. Over 130 participants in this event have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including Jonathan Toews, Jarome Iginla, Matthew Barzal, Tyson Barrie and Colton Parayko.
The GPAC Golden Arrow U15AAA storm had to earn one of these elusive invitations by working extremely hard in the first quarter of their season. The primary determining factors for these invitations is the team’s win-loss record within their league, as well as the relative strength of the league they are playing in. That gave Head Coach, Ryan Allen, and his staff a very short window in an extremely competitive league (the AEHL) to impress the Selection Committee and earn the “golden” invitation.
Allen said the coaching staff announced the news to the players in the team video room. “The players were really pumped and we all feel very fortunate as a program and as a team to be accepted to the John Reid Tournament. We are looking forward to some competitive games against some really good teams. We are all looking forward to the experience.”