Would it be possible, one day, to present a school hockey tournament that would feature the best in the world in this category? Yes, and this is the ambitious project of the World School Hockey Championship (CMHS).
Thus, from October 3 to 8, around twenty school teams from Quebec, the United States, Canada and Europe will compete in this tournament, which will be in its first presentation. The matches will be played at the JCPerreault Complex, in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan.
“We are in year 0 of this tournament, and we want to build it properly,” explained David Thériault, president of the tournament, on Tuesday. It shouldn’t be a tournament just to fill jerseys… we’re aiming for a tournament that will be there for the long term, with quality teams and a very high caliber. »
In total, this event should attract around 200 hockey players, aged 16 to 19. As the name suggests, all these beautiful people will come from different school hockey programs, whether on this continent or in Europe.
“We will have an entirely Quebec division and next year, we will, among other things, invite teams from France,” added David Thériault, who would like to see the project grow a little more each year.
In addition to the hockey component, the CMHS will have an educational mission, while each participant will attend a minimum of three presentations on subjects that are taking an increasingly important place in the field, including sex education, racial equality as well as sports psychology.
This first tournament will take place under the honorary presidency of Stéphane Quintal, former Canadian defender, who now works in the NHL player safety department.