For the past seven years the Cariboo Cougars have made Calgary their Christmas Day destination.
That holiday occasion will continue now that it's official the Cougars have been invited to the Mac's tournament.
The Cougars' current first-place standing in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League made that a guarantee, which means players from Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Dawson Creek, Kitimat, Smithers, Hazelton and Likely will be part of one of the Canada's most prestigious annual tournaments, starting Dec. 26.
For the Cougars, it's a week-long opportunity to showcase their hockey talents against the best of the peers from Western Canada, Europe, the U.S. and Europe in front of WHL, junior-A and NCAA scouts, who hold the keys to their future advancement to higher levels of hockey.
"They are the best teams from where they come from and you have to be able to elevate your game to be able to compete there," said Trevor Sprague, the Cougars head coach and general manager. "As the end of the day, our practices and the way we play have to come up. That's what the Mac's tournament demands or you get left behind as a team.
The Cougars will have their hands full over the next month preparing for the Mac's while taking on some of the top teams within their own league. They host the second-place Vancouver Northwest Giants this weekend at Kin 1, have a bye weekend, then play the Vancouver Northeast Canadians and the Fraser Valley Hawks before boarding the bus for Calgary.
The Mac's male tournament features five pools of five teams each, while the female tournament has three five-team pools. It began in 1978, when it was known as the Wrigley's tournament. The top four teams in the BCMMHL standings get invited.
The Giants won the male tournament in 2012, the same year the Cougars posted their best-ever finish, losing to a Czech team in overtime in the quarterfinal round. Last season the Cougars made up for a slow start in league play with a November surge and were asked to play in the tournament late that month. Seven players from the Cougars team which finished 0-4 at the Mac's -- Zack Smith, Darren Hards, Colton Thomas, Chase Dubois, Steven Jandric, Mitchell Williams and Todd Bredo -- are back this year.
"A lot of agents will be there identifying players and the best teams there obviously get the most love and how our guys compete and help each other out, the better it will be for them if they're trying to get recognized by organizations there," said Sprague.
"It comes down to guys being well-hydrated, eating well, looking after themselves and making sure they're ready to compete, especially when it comes down to [the playoff round] -- that's two games a day."
