The Estevan Bruins were not selected to be the host for the 2021 Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship, but the committee that submitted the bid document is still pleased with their effort.
Penticton, B.C., was selected to host the tournament; Estevan and Salmon Arm, B.C., were the other finalists.
Greg Hoffort, who co-chaired the committee alongside Estevan Bruins president Cory Prokop, said Estevan was in a dead heat with Penticton to host the tournament.“We put in a lot of work and a lot of time and a lot of effort,” said Hoffort. “We thought we had a really good proposal that had a lot of community input, that had a great commitment from the City of Estevan, so we’re disappointed.”
But the contents of the bid document, and the positive feedback by Hockey Canada, leaves Estevan in a good position for a future bid.
“We’re hoping we can work with Hockey Canada towards that,” said Hoffort.
Hoffort noted that the bid was submitted in late April, and the announcement wasn’t made until mid-October, so it must have been a hard decision for Hockey Canada.
“If we’re going to find a silver lining here, hopefully it will hold us in good stead for a future application, and with that in mind we will keep discussions going with Hockey Canada,” said Hoffort.
Estevan’s facilities are as good as anywhere in the country, he said. A lot of people had committed to joining the committee or to volunteering in one way or another. And the City of Estevan stepped forward with a strong commitment, as the Centennial Cup carries an estimated $3 million economic spinoff.
“Those are some of the strengths that we put in this bid and we’ll put in a future one when we do it again,” said Hoffort.
And there were things that they learned from this process that will be applied to the future bid. The Estevan bid committee reviewed winners from previous tournaments and how they did things. They also attended the 2019 tournament in Brooks, Alta., and will be at the 2020 tournament in Portage La Prairie, Man., and the 2021 tournament in Penticton.
