Calgary Canucks excited to host AJHL Showcase

The Calgary Canucks are hosting the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) U18 showcase this week. All 16 AJHL teams will take part in the showcase with each team playing a pair of games.
Games will be played throughout the day from Wednesday through Saturday at the Max Bells Ken Bracko arena.
Canuck forward Gavin Garland says it’s a big deal to host this event.
“Extremely excited," he said.
“Should be some good hockey and we’re hoping to get a couple of wins out of this so it should be good.”
SCOUTS OUT IN FULL FORCE
Hopefully the players will play in front of a lot more fans and many scouts will be there to watch them.
Canuck defenceman Nolan Paquette, 16, said getting noticed by scouts is the name of the game at the AJHL showcase.
Calgary Canuck defenceman Nolan Paquette says the goal of the U18 showcase is to get noticed by scouts
“The goal is to impress people when I’m playing and just play my game," Paquette said.
“You’ve just got to treat it like every other game. Go out there and play the same way you can. It’s no different.”
ACTION STARTS WEDNESDAY
The showcase opens up on Wednesday with the Olds Grizzly’s facing off against the Grand Prairie Storm at 11:00 a.m. The Canucks play at 5:00 p.m. against the Canmore Eagles.
Canucks head coach Brad Moran is hoping a lot of fans will show up at Max Bell.
“That’s the hope,” he said.
“We started our U18 showcase last night and attendance was good," Moran said. "It was scouted well and I think we’ll continue to build on that momentum and I think when people see there’s games all day for four straight days of this calibre, we’ll start to get more and more people out.”
DECENT START FOR THE CANUCKS
The Canucks opened up the season with a 2-1 overtime loss to Lloydminster and followed it up with a 5-0 setback against Bonnyville.
But things turned around this past weekend as the Canucks beat Camrose 3-1 on Saturday and doubled up Canmore on Sunday.
Paquette says it’s a decent start.
“The first two games weren’t so good, but this past weekend we really picked things up," he said, "and had two really good games.
"We have a good squad here," he added, "and it’s looking good.”
EXPECTATIONS HIGH
The expectations in the Canucks' dressing room are high this season. Garland said those weekend wins boosted the team's confidence.
“Like the last two games we had were huge for us and we’re definitely getting the confidence in the room,” he said.
Calgary Canuck Gavin Garland says expectations are high in the teams' dressing room this year
“We could definitely play some better hockey for sure though and we have yet to see the best version of ourselves so it would be good this week if we could see that.”
Here’s a complete schedule of the AJHL Showcase
Wednesday
11:00 a.m. Olds vs Grand Prairie
2:00 p.m. Brooks vs Whitecourt
5:00 p.m. Canmore vs Calgary
8:00 p.m. Bonnyville vs Blackfalds
Thursday
11:00 a.m. Whitecourt vs Drumheller
2:00 p.m. Grand Prairie vs Camrose
5:00 p.m. Drayton Valley vs Bonnyville
8 :00 p.m. Lloydminster vs Okotoks
Friday
11:00 a.m. Camrose vs Fort McMurray
2:00 p.m. Sherwood Park vs Lloydminster
5:00 p.m. Calgary vs Drayton Valley
8:00 p.m. Spruce Grove vs Olds
Saturday
11:00 a.m. Fort McMurray vs Sherwood Park
2:00 p.m. Drumheller vs Spruce Grove
5:00 p.m. Okotoks vs Brooks
8:00 p.m. Blackfalds vs Canmore
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

2 young boys dead, mother in critical condition after incident in Scarborough
Toronto police say a homicide investigation is underway after an incident at a Scarborough apartment building Sunday night left two young boys dead and their mother in critical condition.
Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell, of 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,' dead at 29
Reality personality Anna Cardwell, who was featured on the TLC program “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” has died, according to social media posts made by her family. She was 29.
Three dead after shed fire outside northwest Calgary hardware store
Three people were found dead in the Crowfoot Crossing area of northwest Calgary on Monday after a fire.
Seniors over 87 can apply to join federal dental plan starting next week
The federal government hopes to avoid gumming up the works of its new dental-insurance plan by gradually phasing in enrolment over the course of the next year, Health Minister Mark Holland said Monday.
Grocer profits set to exceed record in 2023, expert says, ahead of committee meeting
Profits in the Canadian grocery sector will likely exceed $6 billion in 2023, setting a new record as they rise eight per cent from last year, according to the Centre for Future Work. New research by the progressive research institute found that food retailers are now earning more than twice as much profit as they did pre-pandemic.
'I know I messed up': House Speaker Fergus challenged by MPs probing video controversy
A repentant Greg Fergus testified Monday before his peers about what he says was his unintentional participation in a partisan provincial Liberal party event in early December, telling MPs that as the House of Commons Speaker, he knows he 'messed up.'
Most Albertans don't want the province to pull out of CPP, survey finds
One month after finance ministers met to discuss the Alberta government's intent to pull out of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) public opinion polling by the Angus Reid Institute suggests there's little desire among Albertans or the rest of Canada to see Alberta leave the plan.
Navalny's whereabouts are unknown and Russian prison says he's no longer there, a spokeswoman says
The whereabouts of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were unknown Monday as officials at the penal colony where he was serving his sentence told one of his lawyers that he is no longer on the inmate roster, the politician's spokeswoman said after nearly a week of not being able to contact him.
Wind warnings in place across the Maritimes, more than 70K without power
More than 70,000 Maritimers are without power Monday as a storm brings high winds and rain to the region.