The curtain is set to rise on the premier U18 AAA hockey tournament in North America.
And for the Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers, it’s about facing what’s directly in front of them when the lights hit the stage on the 2024-25 Circle K Classic later this week.
“Living in the moment, the game you’re in, the shift you’re on, the period you’re in, is going to be important,” said Bow Mark Oilers head coach Mark Pederson. “To be able to slough off a bad shift, a giveaway for a goal, whatever it is, you’ve just got to move on. Things happen quick in those competitions.
“We talk about the term swagger, you’ve got to have confidence in yourself and your team and playing against teams you don’t know much about in such a quick tournament, you’ve got to have that belief that you can win every game.”
Pederson is no stranger to tournament play.
He was an all-star in the 1983 iteration of the event as a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers before embarking on a prolific junior career in which he won two Memorial Cup trophies and the 1988 World Juniors on a team featuring the likes of Theo Fleury, Joe Sakic, Sheldon Kennedy, Mark Recchi and Trevor Linden.
“It’s such a great showcase and we were able to get into the B-final,” said Pederson, a Montreal Canadiens first round pick in 1986 who played five NHL seasons. “A lot of good memories, my mom had taken some articles from the newspaper and the pamphlets with the teams. I played in the all-star game and still have that jersey.
“It was a great experience, that all-star game to meet different kids from all over the world.”
Bow Mark had to qualify for the Classic as one of the top three teams in the Alberta Elite Hockey League outside of the four Calgary host teams. At the time of the cutoff date, the Oilers were first among qualifiers and currently sit second in the South Division with 31 points and a 15-7-1 record.
“For the guys, it was our first goal to get in there because there’s a lot of pride in that tournament and a lot of exposure,” Pederson said. “The more you can play and the higher level you can play, it’s great for them as individuals and great for the team as well.”
Facing Bow Mark in Pool 1 is a returning squad in the Detroit Victory Honda and a newcomer to the Circle K, Sioux Falls out of South Dakota.
The Cariboo Cougars, Okotoks’ third opponent in group play, are the top team in the B.C. AAA ranks, averaging over five goals per game in league play.
“These tournaments are great to get outside of Alberta and the league games and see what else is out there from three different leagues,” the coach added. “Especially the American league and where they’re at and with the B.C. team coming in at a same level, but a different province, it’s a nice variety of teams we get to play against.
“And it should be really exciting.”
Pederson, who took over the team in the late stages of the 2023-24 season, said this year’s group has worked for its success under the mantra of ‘when we work hard, we work smart and we work together we’re a pretty darn good team.’
“We’ve got a solid hockey team and with that, we’ve got a really great group of kids that get along well and compete hard, that have goals in moving on in hockey and moving up in hockey as they go along and take things seriously,” he said.
“They’re never late, they never miss their academic studies or their workouts and those things all transfer over onto the ice.”
Pederson said the team’s collective strength is what stands out, noting the key roles go beyond the statistics page.
That said, the play of 15-year-old forward Adam Halat has caught the league by storm as the freshman winger leads the provincial loop with 40 points in 23 games.
“At that young age, his biggest attribute is his hockey sense, he really sees the ice well and can draw people to him,” Pederson said. “He can make passes and plays that a lot of people can’t and he’s got a real high level of compete.”
At the other end of the ice, the goaltending tandem of Steele Bass and Dane Gillis have formed the backbone of the team, the coach added.
“I think the coaches and players feel real confident with both of them in the net,” he said. “And that’s going to be huge in the (Circle K) where you’re playing a lot of games in a short period of time.”
Bow Mark boasts four returning players from last year’s tournament in captain Tate Hanson, winger Carter Kelly and blueliners Grady Pichette and Alex Schaub.
The tournament runs Dec. 27-Jan. 1 with a revised format seeing the top two teams from each of the eight pools advance to the sweet 16 in the A-division. Bow Mark’s schedule can be found here.
