(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ian Gustafson

Going for Gold

U15 AAA Hockey Alberta Provincial Championship around the corner in Red Deer

Mar 13, 2025 | 5:16 PM

The U15 AAA Red Deer Rebels are having a season to remember.

Led by 13-year-old forward Madden Daneault, who led the Alberta Elite Hockey League with 93 points in 33 games, they finished in second place in the south division standings with a 27-6-0-1-0 record.

In the playoffs, they’ve continued that success defeating the Calgary Royals in the first round 2-0 in the best-of-three series and are currently leading the Calgary Bisons 1-0 in the best-of-three semi-finals series.

The winner of the series advances to the U15 AAA Hockey Alberta Provincial Championship set for March 20-23. The Rebels have already secured their seat at the big dance as they were named the tournament hosts earlier this year.

Curtis Lansing, host committee chair, said they’re really excited to get going.

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“This team has been around Red Deer for over 30 years and I believe this is the first time we’ve been able to host provincials at this level,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to showcase not only the city, but our team, and the other teams who will be involved.”

A week from now the top five teams in the province will compete to become provincial champions at the Servus Arena.

Round Robin play begins on Thursday and continues until Saturday. Championship Sunday will include a bronze medal game at 10:15 a.m. followed by the gold medal game at 1:15 p.m.

Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 20 at the Arena.

Lansing explained the Rebels have previously entered bids to host provincials but have unfortunately never been chosen by Hockey Alberta. It took an army of volunteers to plan and place the bid. Ultimately, the success of the team certainly helped their chances.

They started the process of placing a bid in October and the committee put together a bid package that was submitted in December. They were awarded provincials right before Christmas.

“Red Deer has a great track record of hosting all sorts of different events. We’ve had World Juniors, the Memorial Cup, and last the U18 AAA girls hosted provincials. All of those have been very successful,” Lansing added.

“I think when Hockey Alberta looks at these bids, Red Deer is one I think they take fairly serious and know we’re going to do the best we can to put on a great tournament.”

The tournament will feature some of the top players in their age group in the province and a full schedule will be posted once league playoffs are finished.

The full schedule of games and updated results throughout the weekend for the U15 AAA Provincial Championships can be found at www.u15aaa.ca.

Results will be updated regularly on the site throughout the tournament, and also will be available on the live website ticker. Games are streamed through FloHockey and can be watched with a subscription.

“There’s quite a bit of parody in the league. There’s some really elite teams and there’s no team that’s really running away with it.”

Those hoping to attend the tournament can purchase an adult tournament pass for $20 at the rink. In addition, adult day passes are also available for $10. Seniors and those under 18 will get free admission.

In addition, Red Deer will also host the U18 A Female provincials from March 20-23.

Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain House will host the U13 AA male provincials from March 27-30 and Lacombe will host the U13 B male provincials from March 20-23.

In the AEHL, the U18 AAA Optimist Chiefs missed the postseason and the U17 AAA North Star Chiefs are in the middle of a playoff run after finishing second in the division standings.

In the AFHL, the U18 AAA Sutter Fund Chiefs are still in the regular season and are third in the league with a 15-9-3-1-0 record.

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