Sharks Sports & Entertainment’s Sharks Ice family of ice rink
facilities have been awarded the 2015 USA Hockey Tier I Boys National
Championships, the premier USA Hockey national tournament for boys aged
14-18. The tournament will feature three age groups (14, 16, 18) and be
played at Sharks Ice facilities in April of 2015.
It is the first time the Boys Tier 1 championships have ever been awarded to the west.
The San Jose Jr. Sharks have been members of the North American
Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) since the league's inception back in
2009. The NAPHL holds an annual West Showcase event at Sharks Ice in
San Jose. As the hosts, the Jr. Sharks team that compete in the NAPHL at
the 18U and 16U levels will receive an automatic bid to the tournament.
The majority of games will be played at Sharks Ice at San Jose, with select games to be held at Sharks Ice at Fremont.
A total of 48 teams (16 in each age group) will participate. The
tournament will feature USA Hockey District champions from across the
country. Teams are composed of the best-of-the-best male hockey players
in the United States at the 14, 16, and 18-year-old levels.
“We are honored to be the first facility on the west coast to host
this prestigious event,” Vice President, Sharks Ice & Worcester
Sharks Jon Gustafson said. “USA Hockey’s selection of Sharks Ice at San
Jose shows that the rest of the country acknowledges California as a
hockey hotbed. This is a fantastic opportunity for our kids, families,
facilities, and city to showcase our world class amenities and prove to
everyone that San Jose is Hockey Town 2.0.”
Sharks Ice has hosted five USA Hockey National Tournaments in the
past, including the 2007 Girls’ and Women’s USA Hockey Championships.
The most recent tournament was held in March and April of 2013 when the
nation’s best women’s teams skated into San Jose for the 2013 USA Hockey
Girls’ and Women’s Tier I & II National Championships. The
tournament drew thousands of participants, family, friends, and
spectators and generated a substantial economic boom for the city of San
Jose. Over 100 participating teams came to the city, stayed in local
hotels, and generated revenue for local businesses and restaurants.
Sharks Sports & Entertainment’s Sharks Ice at San Jose, a state
of the art facility with four NHL-sized rinks under one roof, is the
largest ice sports facility west of the Mississippi and one of the few
facilities in the United States capable of hosting such an event. The
facility is the second-largest booker of hotel nights in San Jose,
behind only the McEnery Convention Center, and expects to provide over
10,000 room-nights in 2013. It is open 364 days a year from 5:30 a.m. –
1:30 a.m. and welcomed 1.5 million customers to its facilities in 2012.
In total, USA Hockey will have five ice sheets available for the
tournaments with an additional one NHL surface at Sharks Ice at Fremont.
According to USA Hockey, the Sharks Ice adult hockey program is the
largest adult hockey program in the entire country with over 3,740
registered participants. Sharks Ice also currently makes up 28% of all
USA Hockey registered players in the state of California.
The San Jose Jr. Sharks youth hockey organization is dedicated to
the development of amateur hockey in the Bay Area. The overall goal is
for players of all ages and skill levels to develop a true and lasting
love for the game of hockey. Teaching sportsmanship, leadership,
discipline, and respect are the primary objectives of each coach, each
team, each parent, and of the Jr. Sharks organization.
(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)
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