Canmore minor hockey named Alberta’s top association

CANMORE – It’s been a big year for hockey in Canmore.

The hometown of Alex Kaleta, who famously coined the hat trick phrase, got word that the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada is coming in January 2025, local players Luke Philp and Noah Philp signed two-way contracts with NHL clubs, and now, the Canmore Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) has been recognized as the 2024 minor hockey association of the year by Hockey Alberta.

CMHA president Michael Hay said that winning the award was an accumulation of a few things from providing a fun and safe atmosphere for athletes and volunteers to coming together as a community to make it work.

“It’s not one or two individuals, it’s everybody,” he said. “It’s every single volunteer that’s at every single tournament, or working in a penalty box or on a bench coaching. That’s the piece that’s really important is that it takes every single person.”

It’s a small association with a massive footprint, Hay added, noting the association has been flexible in offering programming options to families.

“I’ve always said that I’ve said it for a long time because playing fun, safe hockey and our mantra to making sure that everybody has the opportunity,” Hay said. “It’s literally a fun game and we want to make sure that we maintain that and we provide them with tools to do it.”

Awarded at a July 20 ceremony in Red Deer, Hockey Alberta said each award winner made outstanding contributions to amateur hockey throughout the season and went above and beyond the minimum guidelines and standards set out.

When it came to CMHA, Hockey Alberta said the association’s desire to provide a fun and positive environment for children is directly aligned with its vision and mission.

“They have established strong policies, procedures and known for providing clear direction, training and support to their volunteers, allowing a fun, safe and positive environment to evolve,” the provincial regulator stated in a media release.

“Canmore has also been active in seeking out grants to support player and coach development and have been proactive in offering flexible program options for families and working with neighbouring communities to provide opportunities for players outside of Canmore’s boundaries to access minor hockey.”