CALGARY, AB — Hockey Canada’s site selection committee announced the list of final five bids which remain in the running to be Canada’s winning bid to host the 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship are (listed alphabetically):

– London, ON / Kitchener
– Ottawa
– Quebec City
– Saskatoon
– Vancouver

The 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship will run from December 2005 through early January 2006.

The decision to pare the list of eleven groups down to the final five was the task of Hockey Canada’s site selection committee comprised of: Bob Nicholson (Hockey Canada President), Allan Matthews (Chair of the Board for Hockey Canada), David Branch (President of the Canadian Hockey League), and Scott Smith (Hockey Canada’s Vice President, Business Operations).

Eleven groups had expressed interest in hosting the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship, including six that were formally eliminated from contention on Monday: Edmonton, AB, Halifax, NS, Hamilton, ON, London/Kitchener, ON, Winnipeg, MB, Montreal, QC, Ottawa, ON, Quebec City, QC, Saskatoon, SK, Toronto, ON, Vancouver, BC. The six bids that were eliminated will have their $7,500 deposit returned.

“The time and resources demonstrated in each of the eleven bid proposals we received were outstanding and certainly the best quality that Hockey Canada has seen in the bidding process for international events in Canada, which made the decision to move to the final five a very difficult one for the selection committee,” said Scott Smith of Hockey Canada. “The five short listed candidates presented the top bids, considering the team services, business/financial and overall logistics plan for the operation of the event.”
The next steps in the bid process to host the 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship is as follows:

– Each of the ‘final five’ will have a 1 hour in-person session (30 min. presentation/30 min question and answer period) to the site selection committee, on January 18, 2004 in Calgary, AB
– The final decision of Canada’s recommended site to host the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship will be announced by Hockey Canada no later than January 30th, 2004
– The final Canadian bid city to host the 2006 World Juniors must then receive the final approval of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) at its May, 2004 meetings

Canada has hosted the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship six times: 2003 (Halifax, NS), 1999 (Winnipeg, MB), 1995 (Red Deer, AB), 1991 (Saskatoon, SK), 1986 (Hamilton, ON), and 1978 (Montreal, QC). Grand Forks, North Dakota will host the event in 2005. Canada has won a medal in the past six World Junior Championships, including a silver medal on Jan. 5, 2004 in Finland after losing to the USA, 4-3.

For further information on the World Junior Hockey Championships and Hockey Canada high performance and development programs, visit Hockey Canada’s official web site at www.hockeycanada.ca .

For more information:
Brad Pascall
Director, Communications
Hockey Canada
403-777-4556
bpascall@hockeycanada.ca