**ALBERTA JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE NEWS RELEASE**

CALGARY, Alta. – The Canadian Junior Hockey League, in conjunction with the National Hockey League and Hockey Canada announced Wednesday that Okotoks, Alta., has been selected as the host city for the 14th annual CJHL Prospects Game, which will be held on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 7 p.m. MT at Pason Centennial Arena, home of the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

This contest will feature 40 of the top NHL Draft eligible players from across the entire 10-league, 133-team CJHL taking part.

Once formulated, the rosters will see 20 prospects that were selected from the five eastern-based CJHL leagues (MHL, LHJAAAQ, CCHL, OJHL & NOJHL) taking on top 20 prospects from the CJHL’s five western-based leagues (BCHL, AJHL, SJHL, MJHL & SIJHL).

Each of the team line-ups will be chosen in partnership with NHL Central Scouting and will be announced at a later date as will the respective coaching staffs for the two sides and other related information, such as ticket prices, game broadcast details, etc.

In announcing the selection of Okotoks to host the 2019 Prospects Game, CJHL President Brent Ladds provided his thoughts.

“We received multiple offers to host the 2019 Prospects Game for which we were very grateful,” detailed Ladds. “It made the final selection very challenging.”

In the end, accessing new venues for CJHL events and working with new communities, played a role in our final decision. I am sure the event will be very successful in Okotoks.”

In being named hosts for the event, Oilers’ chairman of the board Wayne Lauinger supplied his comments on their club being chosen.    

“The Okotoks Oilers are extremely excited to be selected as the host of the 2019 Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game,” said Lauinger.

“Being the first Alberta community to host this prestigious event is an exciting honour, not only for the Okotoks Oilers, but the Town of Okotoks, our fans who have been so supportive of our organization and the AJHL,” added Lauinger.

“We have had the privilege of watching past AJHL players and first round NHL draft picks in Cale Makar (Brooks Bandits) and Jacob Bernard-Docker (Okotoks Oilers) compete in the 2017 and 2018 Prospect Games’ respectively. We look forward to welcoming all the players, coaches, CJHL staff, scouts and spectators to this year’s game.”

“The CJHL Prospects Game organizing committee and staff is elated to be hosting this national match-up.”

As for their part, the AJHL once again looks forward to one of their member organizations hosting a successful event.

“The Alberta Junior Hockey League in conjunction with the Okotoks Oilers are pleased to add the CJHL Prospects Game to the suite of events AJHL communities will be hosting this season,” stated AJHL commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk.

“Along with the 2018 World Junior A Challenge in Bonnnyville and the 2019 National Junior A Championship in Brooks, being awarded the CJHL Prospects game is another testament to the stellar reputation that our Alberta communities have earned for staging world-class events.”

“Okotoks has an immense passion for hockey and will be a great host for the CJHL Prospects Game,” summarized Bartoshyk.

 

ABOUT THE CJHL PROSPECTS GAME

The CJHL Prospects Game is one of the premier Junior A hockey events in the country and provides tremendous exposure for CJHL players to play in front of scouts from all over the hockey world – including the NHL, NCAA, CHL and U Sports.

The President’s Cup is awarded to the winning team in the CJHL Prospects Game.

From 2005 until 2008, the event ran as a single game, but starting in 2009 the President’s Cup was played as a two-game series where the combined score of the games determined the winner of the title. 

The contest has now gone back to a single-game format along with player testing, both on-ice and off-ice, having been introduced.

Since its inception, Team West has won eight times while Team East has come away victorious on five occasions.

All-Time CJHL Prospects Game President’s Cup Results

2006: Team West 5 Team East 4 (Yorkton, Sask.)
2007: Team West 6 Team East 2 (Vernon, B.C.)
2008: Team East 5 Team West 3 (Winkler, Man.)
2009: Team East 6 Team West 3 (Summerside, P.E.I.)
2010: Team West 8 Team East 3 (8-1, 0-2) (Winkler, Man.)
2011: Team East 9 Team West 2 (2-1, SO, 7-1) (Dauphin, Man.)
2012: Team West 9 Team East 6 (4-3 OT, 5-3) (Langley, B.C.)
2013: Team West 8 Team East 6 (5-0, 3-6) (Digby/Yarmouth, N.S.)
2014: Team East 8 Team West 4 (4-2, 4-2) (Digby/Yarmouth, N.S.)
2015: Team West 3 Team East 2 (Oakville, Ont.)
2016: Team East 3 Team West 1 (Surrey, B.C.)
2017: Team West 4 Team East 3 (Cornwall, Ont.)
2018: Team West 5 Team East 2 (Mississauga, Ont.)
2019: Team East vs. Team West (Okotoks, Alta.) (January 22, 2019)