The Grande Prairie Storm will face off against the Czech Republic National Team at Revolution Place this winter.
The game will be a precursor to the 2019 World Junior A Challenge in Dawson Creek. The agreement came together after a five-year-deal was penned between the City of Dawson Creek and Hockey Canada, which includes the hosting rights to the tournament.
Grande Prairie Storm Vice President Chris Millsap says having a neighbouring city and close working partner hold such a big tournament is a great learning experience for the Storm organization.
“Dawson Creek and a relationship they have with Hockey Canada is a great model to build off of, and so far in this process, they’ve been excellent.”
Millsap says the economic impact of this one game probably isn’t overly significant to the city of Grande Prairie. He adds it does is however put Grande Prairie on the map to host further international events.
“It exposes our fans and people in Grande Prairie who aren’t necessarily our fans, or those who aren’t coming out to see us on the regular, it exposes them to some really good hockey and an opportunity to see something beyond the norm.”
The game against the Czech Republic is set for December 5th, 2019.