{"id":77976,"date":"2024-11-27T12:23:28","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T19:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=77976"},"modified":"2024-11-27T12:28:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T19:28:38","slug":"team-alberta-comes-from-behind-to-win-the-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/11\/27\/team-alberta-comes-from-behind-to-win-the-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Alberta comes from behind to win the WHL Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Coming off the win-<\/strong> Ossie McIntyre scored a goal in his game against Saskatchewan on Oct. 26. (Photo by Paige Humphrey\/ The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RED DEER<\/strong> – Team Alberta players piled onto their goalie after winning the Western Hockey League (WHL) Cup.<\/p>\n

T<\/span>hey won in an 8-1 victory against Manitoba in the championship final.<\/p>\n

The WHL Cup is an under-16 \u00a0hockey tournament held annually across Western Canada, showcasing all-star players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba who are prospects for WHL teams.<\/p>\n

This tournament, held in Red Deer from Oct. 23 to Oct. 27, began in 2009 in Blackfalds, Alta. Many notable NHL players played in this tournament\u00a0 over the years including Morgan Rielly, Brayden Point and Mathew Barzal.<\/p>\n

Winning the trophy is an achievement, but the main goal is for players to prove they\u2019re ready to make the jump to the major junior ranks \u2014 and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the entryway into the Hockey Canada system,\u201d Team Alberta goalie coach Theodore Zubot said during the tournament. \u201cBuy into your role.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is important for these young athletes to realize they are no longer going to be the stars on their teams and will now be with athletes at the same level or higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have 20 players that are all really good on their club teams,” said Zubot. “But I think when you come here on a best-on-best tournament, your role might be a little bit different.”<\/p>\n

Zubot is also the goalie coach for the Calgary Hitmen, allowing him to see the lineup of players throughout the entire season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big opportunity playing here \u2014 showcase our talents,\u201d said Team Alberta forward Ossie McIntyre, a Spokane Chiefs prospect.<\/p>\n

Confidence is an important factor for players during this tournament. It will help them excel on ice and put their best foot forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can’t tell him he’s not good,\u201d said Ossie’s mom Deanne. \u201cCould come across cocky sometimes \u2014 his confidence is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Winning the faceoff-<\/strong> McIntyre wins a faceoff against a player from Team Manitoba. (Photo by Paige Humphrey\/ The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The beginning of the tournament started out rocky for Team Alberta, with two losses and one win. The Alberta boys roared back and beat Saskatchewan 9-5 on Oct. 26 to advance to the finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we had them,\u201d said Team Alberta\u2019s Matthew Hilderman. We just had to keep pushing them on their heels and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The excitement from Saskatchewan game carried into their outstanding performance in the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team has huge momentum right now,\u201d said Hilderman.<\/p>\n

The big win will help propel the athlete\u2019s careers and show their skills to potential recruits.<\/p>\n

Scouts at this tournament range from junior to pro leagues. Playing well and showing off your skills may lead to huge opportunities, including playing for Team Canada, or even in the NHL.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext step would be U17, U18, then the World Juniors,\u201d said Zubot. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of the start for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Race for the puck-<\/strong> Alberta’s Jaggar John speeds towards the puck in an afternoon game on Oct. 25 (Photo by Paige Humphrey\/ The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The players on Team Alberta piled onto the goalie after winning the Western Hockey League Cup. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":930,"featured_media":77977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"Team Alberta WHL Cup PH","footnotes":""},"categories":[1585,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-77976","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-junior-amateur-sports","8":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77976"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78477,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77976\/revisions\/78477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}