Hockey players and teams were disappointed to hear the cancellation of the 2021 Mac’s tournament in Calgary. One of those teams was the Prince Albert Mintos. One of four teams from Saskatchewan that were set to travel to Calgary for the U18AAA’s annual tournament won’t be competing in the showcase event anymore.
“With the rising cases and constantly changing environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, we feel it is not appropriate to execute the tournament as planned,” said a release from Mac’s tournament representatives.
The statement went on to say that overall health, reported positive cases on attending teams, and travel issues were just a few of the concerns held by both organizers and teams.
The tournament was scheduled to kick off shortly after Christmas, from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2.
The Mintos were set to play their first game on Dec. 27 against the defending champs Calgary Buffaloes in one of the first games of the event. Now, they’ll have to wait until the SMU18AAAHL season gets back underway for their next game on Jan. 8.
A possible rescheduling for the tournament could happen, but is not certain. However, with some players in their final season at the U18 level, many parents and teams are very upset with the decision to cancel the tournament. The release was instantly met with backlash from parents, fans, and teams, who feel the players are not getting rewarded for their hard work over the last two seasons.
The full statement from the Mac’s can be found on Twitter @MacsTournament.
@kyle_kosowan•sports@paherald.sk.ca
