Canucks bringing Young Stars back to Penticton, training camp to Whistler


The Vancouver Canucks are reviving their prospects tournament after a four-year hiatus

Article content

For the first time in four years, the Vancouver Canucks will take their prospects to Penticton in September.

Article content

The NHL team announced Tuesday that the Young Stars Classic is officially back on and will run from Sept. 14 to 18 at the South Okanagan Events Center in Penticton. They also announced their 2022 training camp will be in Whistler, Sept. 23 to 24.

The Canucks ran the popular Young Stars tournament in Penticton from 2010 to 2018, then took a year off in 2019.

They had originally planned to bring it back in September 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that and the team then had to call off plans to revive it last fall as well.

“It was a priority,” Canucks president Jim Rutherford said Tuesday. “Everybody that was here prior to us (Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin) getting here really pushed for it. It’s something that we’ve always liked.”

Article content

“I think it’s good because it gives some of those players a head start on the big camp. They get to play against players more their own age and really prepares them for big camp so I’m excited and excited about the fact that we can move around the province a little bit and let other people see our players,” he added.

They’re hoping to have four teams in the event this year. Rutherford said two have made firm commitments at this point, but he wasn’t ready to announce which teams.

When the Canucks announced the revival in 2020, the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets were all going to be involved, so it’s not unreasonable to think they’d be back, along with the Seattle Kraken, for the 2022 edition.

The Canucks also announced Tuesday their summer development camp will take place at UBC July 10 to 15.

[email protected]

twitter.com/risingaction



Leave a Comment