Royals, VicPD, and VCPAA team up to bring accessible youth street hockey to Victoria
The Victoria Royals, VicPD and the Victoria City Police Athletic Association (VCPAA) are partnering with the NHL to bring low-cost, accessible street hockey to Greater Victoria youth this summer.
Starting Tuesday July 4, teams of seven youth in five different age categories, from ages 6 to 16, will face off as the local street hockey representatives of an NHL team. Hosted by the Victoria Royals in the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre parking lot every Tuesday evening over a four-week period, the teams will battle it out for NHL Street supremacy. This first year is a short season, with next year’s season expected to be a full eight weeks.
Registration is now open at NHLStreetVictoria.ca. With significant support from the Victoria Royals, the VCPAA and VicPD, the partnership means that this inaugural tournament is low-cost at $50 per youth. Each participant receives their own reversible official NHL Street version of their team’s jersey.
“Hockey isn’t just what the Victoria Royals organization does, it is part of how we build connections that in turn instill life-long skills of teamwork, perseverance and leadership,” Dan Price, the Victoria Royals General Manager, said. “We’re glad to connect our players in our home arena with young players to help mentor both hockey skills and life skills.”
“As a hockey fan, I am extremely excited at the opportunity for VicPD to partner with the NHL, the Victoria Royals hockey club and our own athletic association,” VicPD Chief Del Manak said. “Our local youth will be able to play weekly street hockey games in a fun, non-competitive environment while wearing the logo and colours of their favorite NHL hockey team. I especially look forward to cheering on the team that chooses the New York Islanders.”
“Keeping the costs down so this event could be accessible to as many young people as possible has been really important to us,” VCPAA Executive Cst. Mandeep Sohi said. “We’re proud to be part of bringing this official NHL event to our community.”
The first NHL Street game in Victoria starts with a ceremonial puck drop at parking lot of Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, 1925 Blanshard St., on Tuesday, July 4.
To register for a team, visit NHLStreetVictoria.ca. Registration is limited.
For more information on NHL Street in Greater Victoria, please visit NHLStreetVictoria.ca or https://www.instagram.com/nhlstreetvictoria/.
About the Victoria Royals
The Victoria Royals are a Canadian major junior ice hockey club in the Western Hockey League (WHL) owned and operated by GSL Group. The Royals play all their home games at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre and have entered their 12th season of their existence.
About Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (SOFMC) is designed, constructed, developed and operated by GSL Group. SOFMC is Victoria’s premier entertainment facility and the largest arena in British Columbia outside Vancouver. The state-of-the-art 7,000 seat facility is home to the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League and regularly hosts large-scale concerts and other special events such as figure skating, curling, plays, trade shows and conferences. SOFMC also features a fine dining Lion’s Den Restaurant, as well as retail and meeting space.
