U-17 Hockey Challenge coming in 2018

A major hockey tournament is coming to Saint John and Quispamsis next year.

On Tuesday, Hockey Canada announced that the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will be held at Harbour Station and the qplex Nov. 3-10, 2018.

“The hockey community of southwestern New Brunswick is thrilled that Hockey Canada has chosen us to host this major international event,” said Aaron Kennedy, chair of the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge host organizing committee, in a release. “Our volunteers are excited and we promise to work hard over the next year to ensure we run a fantastic tournament.”

According to a release, "the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge represents a partnership between Hockey Canada, Hockey New Brunswick, and the Canadian Hockey League, as well as the City of Saint John, the Town of Quispamsis, and the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL."

Huge congrats to @VisitSaintJohn @shannabanana8 @scoop88 @VictoriaClarke1 on the announcement of the @HockeyCanada World Under 17s! pic.twitter.com/WsdycVKLBc

— Wayne Long (@WayneLongSJ) October 11, 2017

This will be the first time New Brunswick has hosted the event since Moncton in 1995.

Quispamsis hosted the Telus Cup in 2016. Other than that, there haven't been a lot of major hockey events held in the province in recent years, so this is good to see.

The event, which features three Canadian teams, is loaded with future NHL players every year.

Ticket and schedule information - which will include pre-tournament games - has not been released yet. The Sea Dogs did, however, inform Season Ticket Members and corporate partners about discounted ticket rates on Wednesday.

This year's World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is being held in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C.  next month.