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If players, parents and hockey fans were wondering last year how big the Sudbury Regional Silver Stick might be, after seeing the 2023 field grow to nearly 100 teams spread over two weekends, they may have the answer with the 54th edition of the largest hockey tournament in Northern Ontario. the tournament is expected to begin this week.

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“We’re very excited,” said Peter Michelutti, longtime local tournament director. “Last year we thought we had a big year, with 96 teams, but this year we have a total of 118 teams.”

These include entries from across the province in the U10 A, U11 A, U12A, U13 A, U14 A, U15 A and U18 A divisions, all of which will hit the ice at local rinks from Thursday to Sunday, as well as U10 AA hopefuls. , U11 AA, U12 AA, U13 AA, U14 AA, U15 AA, U16 AA and U18 AA, which will converge on the Greater Sudbury arenas from November 28 to December 1.

No less than 283 matches will be played in total.

“I think hockey in general, from eight and nine years old, has increased, and the U16, U18 teams are starting to come back in the fall after the COVID year,” suggested Michelutti, during a conference of press and a reception at Club Caruso. on Tuesday afternoon. “They missed hockey and they’re coming back to it. A lot of northern teams are pretty good this year – Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Sudbury and Copper Cliff all have strong teams, so these should be very good finals for all divisions.

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Mindful of the high cost of representative sports, not to mention travel and lodging costs, Michelutti said he and his fellow organizers did their best to help participants earn a dollar.

“We guarantee four games and, if you get to the final, you will have six,” he said. “We have hotels that give them discounts, we have discounts for all the restaurants, for some of the sporting goods stores in town, and coupons for Science North and stuff like that – we’re just trying to enable them become. in Sudbury. We want them to come north, rather than our teams going south all the time.

While the cute factor may be part of the spectator appeal among younger age groups, Michelutti is increasingly impressed with the skating ability and skill of these relative newcomers. However, as players reach the U14 and above levels, the intensity and physicality increase quickly.

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“They want to dominate the guys – it’s a little more competitive,” he said. “There are good hockey teams.

“All the kids can skate today. They all attended summer schools, they all improved their game, so there are no weak teams. The team that wins is usually the one with the best goalie.

During his 40 years at the helm of the Sudbury region, Michelutti can boast a long list of players who participated in the event before embarking on a professional career.

“They played AA, moved up to AAA, then played OHL hockey,” he said. “It’s a stepping stone.”

Among those who will be chasing their dreams in the major leagues this year are girls from the Sudbury Lady Wolves U12 A team.

“We want to see how they compete with the boys,” Michelutti said. “In the future we may want to welcome the Silver Stick girls to Sudbury, so we’re considering that, but we want to see how they can do this year.

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The Silver Sticks are among the most attended youth hockey events in North America, both in terms of player and fan participation. There were 50 tournaments last year in Canada and the United States, including regional tournaments and finals, involving 2,896 teams and some 58,500 players.

Family, friends and fans will not only fill the stands at the community rinks during the local tournament, but also the seats at the Sudbury Community Arena for OHL action as the Wolves of Sudbury will host the Windsor Spitfires next Friday and the Barrie Colts on November 13. 29.

“We sold 2,500 tickets between the two Wolves games,” Michelutti said. “There will be a lot of people.”

For more information, a complete schedule and a list of participating teams, visit silverstick.org/Tournaments/26542.

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