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By Jay D Haughton
Moose Jaw will welcome the best para hockey athletes in the world from May 28 to June 3, when the city will play host to the 2023 World Para Ice Hockey Championship.
This will mark the first time Canada’s para hockey squad will host a world championship and the first major international para-hockey event since the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.
The announcement was made Monday morning that the Moose Jaw Events Centre will host eight teams from three different continents.
Ryan McIvor, the Moose Jaw Events Centre general manager, says the event is a great opportunity to show the people of the city and province what para hockey is all about.
“There is a great aspect of the para sports and I think this is a great opportunity to distinguish and raise the awareness of the high-performance aspect of the sport,” McIvor said.
There’s also an economic spinoff for Moose Jaw from the tournament in an already-busy tourism season for the city, but it will also be a good time to show off the community and what it has to offer.
“It’s a great opportunity that Moose Jaw welcomes the world,” added McIvor. “This is not just a Moose Jaw Events Centre event; it’s really a community event. It’s about (the) mayor and council’s vision to build the facility many years ago and to drive events and activities within the community. This is just one of many great success stories and legacies that it provides.”
The Government of Saskatchewan, through Tourism Saskatchewan, is contributing $45,000 to the event. An estimated $2 million in economic activity is expected.
“Moose Jaw has a renowned reputation when it comes to delivering great hospitality and events that leave visitors with a desire to return again and again,” Moose Jaw North MLA Tim McLeod said. “This championship will draw fans who are eager to cheer on the athletes and support their quest for the world title.”
Canada will be joined by teams from the United States, Czechia, Korea, Germany, China, Italy, and Norway.
It will be an opportunity for players like Team Canada captain Tyler McGregor to show their skills on the world stage in front of hopefully a packed Moose Jaw Events Centre.
“I’m ecstatic and that sentiment is throughout our entire team. There’s so much enthusiasm and energy around finally being able to make this announcement. We’ve never been able to host a world championship before; we’re over the moon excited to be able to compete at a major tournament on home ice,” McGregor said.
“Over the past number of years, we haven’t competed in front of fans for the most part. It will be nice to have fans back in the building, especially our own fans.”
The World Para Hockey organizing body was unable to find a host city for the 2023 championship, but then partnered with Hockey Canada to help find the perfect host city.
Moose Jaw was deemed a perfect host city for the event due to the event centre’s accessibility features and then the City of Moose Jaw stepped up with an offer to host the tournament.
Conversations started a number of years ago and then ramped up a few months ago to iron out the logistics side of the event.
Canada’s first game is set for May 29 against Korea. A rematch of the gold-medal game from the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games pits Canada against the United States on May 31 at 7 p.m.
All 20 games, including the gold-medal game on June 4, will be played at Moose Jaw Events Centre. Tickets for the tournament are to go on sale to the public on Wednesday at 10 a.m., at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets.
