There's still no free trade agreement in sight for the politicians.
But in midget hockey circles there's already a solid deal in place that binds the United States and Canada.
For the second straight year the Everett Junior Silvertips have made the trek north to play the Cariboo Cougars in Prince George and this time around the Silvertips under-18 and under-15 teams are getting a taste of the new two-tired system the Cariboo Cougars have adopted.
Led by former NHLer Turner Stevenson, who coaches the under-18 team in Everett, the two Silvertips teams are each playing a four-game series at CN Centre which got underway Thursday night. This is the second year Everett has come to Prince George for a preseason series.
"Having Turner come up the last two years has been outstanding," said Cariboo Cougars general manager Trevor Sprague. "He's a northern guy (Stevenson is a Prince George minor hockey product who was born in Mackenzie) and his American team in Everett plays a northern style so it works good for both organizations."
The Cariboo Cougars minor midget team coached by Brian Toll and assistants Ryan Howse and Chase Astorino replaces the Tier I midget Cougars team that won two provincial gold medals and one silver over the past three years. The zone concept promoted by B.C. Hockey also extends to new North Central midget and bantam double-A teams which begin competition in a provincial league this season.
"If you look at the development model for the north and all the other zones in British Columbia, it's outstanding," said Sprague. "You don't have to have kids leave home for academies, they can stay closer to home. Some, unfortunately, do have to move but at least they get to stay in the north and play the northern style of hockey."
The Cariboo major midget team for players in the 15-17-year-old age category, will continue to play a 40-game schedule in the 11-team B.C. Hockey Major Midget League. The minor midgets, whose roster will include only 2003-born players, have a 30-game schedule and four tournaments in their 10-team league.
"It's pretty tough for a 15-year-old to make our (major midget) hockey club," said Sprague. "Before, if the 15-year-olds weren't ready, they played on the Tier 1 team or went back to their home association. Now, they don't have to. They can stay with our hockey club and we get to watch them develop over the next year. We have a place for those 15-year-olds to play with good coaching and good structure."
The two local teams are essentially split-squads this weekend while the major midget team awaits the return of players from junior camps.
The Silvertips U-15s lost their opener 8-5 to the minor midgets on Thursday, while the major midgets, under head coach Tyler Brough and assistants RJay Berra and Hayden-James Berra, beat the Everett U-18 squad 3-2.
Games resumed Friday night. Today's schedule has the U-15-Cariboo minor midget game at 5 p.m., followed by the Everett U-18 major midget game at 7:45. On Sunday the games are at 8 a.m. (minor midget) and 10:45 a.m. (major midget).
All games are at CN Centre.
The two Cariboo Cougars teams will be on the road next Thursday for weekend exhibition games in Kamloops.
