(Red Deer U18 AAA Optimist Chiefs/Facebook)

By Ian Gustafson

Prestigious tournament

Red Deer Optimist Chiefs advance to ‘C’ Division playoffs at Circle K Classic in Calgary

Dec 29, 2025 | 2:41 PM

The Red Deer Optimist Chiefs fought hard, but finished round-robin play at the 2025-26 Circle K Classic without a win following their final game on Monday.

The U18 AAA Chiefs fell to the Edmonton Jr. Oilers Blue 6-3 to wrap up preliminary action at the prestigious tournament in Calgary.

Bennett Roth, Tayte Hoiland, and Talon Hynes all scored for Red Deer. Meanwhile, Chiefs goaltender Judah Sabasch made 35 saves on 41 shots.

This comes after the Chiefs lost their first two matchups, including a 5-3 setback to the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 27 and a 7-3 loss to the Prairie Hockey Academy, from Caronport, Sask., on Dec. 28.

As a result, the Chiefs finished last in Pool 3 behind the Blues, Oilers, and Prairie Hockey Academy.

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This means the Chiefs will now move to the ‘C’ Division, where they will compete to become the champions of that division, which will contain seven other teams that finished fourth in their pool.

Who the Chiefs will face first in the opening playoff round has yet to be determined, but they will return to the ice on Dec. 30 in a do-or-die situation.

If the Chiefs win, they’ll move on the the ‘C’ Division semi-finals on Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. and potentially the finals on Jan. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Max Bell Centre.

Since 1978, teams from across Canada, the United States, and Europe have competed in the holiday tradition, which features the best U18 AAA squads in hockey.

Red Deer last played in the tournament in 2018-19, where they posted a 1-3 record and in 2017-18, when they lost to the Regina Pat Canadians in the final.

According to the Circle K Classic website, the Optimist Chiefs won the tournament in 1978.