The Vancouver Northeast Chiefs are taking it to another level.
One year after launching a minor midget program as part of the B.C. Minor Midget Hockey initiative, the Chiefs will be part of B.C. Hockey’s Major Bantam AAA pilot program for the 2019-20 season.
The regional rep team, designated for players from east Burnaby, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities and Ridge Meadows zones, will be holding its major bantam evaluation camp April 26 to 28 at Coquitlam’s Planet Ice.
After being discussed for a number of years as an alternative for academy programs, the Major Bantam AAA League will take flight with six other teams — Fraser Valley. Okanagan, Thompson, Greater Vancouver, Vancouver North West and Valley West.
The inaugural season will feature 30 games and two showcase weekends. There will be designated bye weeks to allow teams to also participate in major bantam tournaments, one of which will be a league-hosted event in Kelowna.
The cost to attend the evaluation camp is $299. The player fee for next season has been set at $6,290, which covers accommodation and travel for games, administration of program, equipment (helmet, jersey, gloves, team apparel), ice time, officiating fees, on-and-off-ice training, team staff expenses/honourarium and tournament entry fees.
This season B.C. Hockey launched a minor midget league designated for first-year (15-year-olds) players to complement the long-running Major Midget League.
For more information visit www.bchockey.net.
