In the eyes of students and parents, scholarships are nice. Really nice.
For hockey-playing students looking to snag a scholarship to college and/or university in British Columbia, now is the time to shine.
On Saturday (Jan. 17), the Brennan Park Arena will host the opening game of a long-standing tradition known as the midget scholarship series.
The game pits players from four different zones in the Vancouver/ Fraser Valley regions (including Squamish and Whistler), who have been chosen based upon their academic standing in their grade 12 year, as well as their on-ice abilities.
Squamish's Rick Sandhu will be suiting up for the Greater Vancouver Canucks squad in the tournament. The grade 12 Howe Sound Secondary School student is playing for the Sea to Sky Winterhawks Midget "A" team, which is a joint team formed of rep players from Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
"It's a series that showcases the graduating players in each area," says game organizer Roy Weiss. "It's very good hockey, usually penalty-free and great to watch.
"The intensity level is high because there are many scholarships up for grabs."
The players chosen must be graduating from Grade 12 this year, must possess at least a C+ average and must display the necessary skill level to play competitive hockey at this level.
The series has been going for more than 40 years. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Brennan Park with Sandhu's Canucks taking on the Greater Vancouver Avalanche and admission is free.
The tournament moves to Richmond on Sunday, Port Coquitlam on Monday when the Canucks play the Fraser Valley Oilers, Burnaby Thursday and the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver on FFriday, when the Canucks play the Fraser Valley Flames.
The finals take place Saturday (Jan. 24) at the North Delta Rec Centre with the fourth-place team playing the third-place team while the top two teams square off for the title.
