6 things you need to know about the Esso Cup

The Esso Cup is just around the corner.

This year, the host Thompson-Okanagan Lakers will welcome representatives from five regions (Atlantic, Pacific, Ontario, Quebec, West) to compete for Canada’s Women’s U18 National Club Championship, April 21-27 at Kal Tire Place in Vernon, B.C.

The event serves as a platform for showcasing some of the top U18 talent and provides them with an opportunity to compete on the national stage.

Here are six things you need to know about the Esso Cup.

The Esso Cup has been around for 15 years

The tournament is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, but there hasn’t been a champion every year; the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The inaugural Esso Cup took place in Calgary in April 2009, with the Westman Wildcats from Manitoba claiming the first national title. Prior to the establishment of the Esso Cup, there was the Esso Women’s Nationals, which served as the Canadian senior women’s championship from 1982 until 2008.

British Columbia will play host for the second time

You have to go all the way back to 2013 to find the last time the Esso Cup was held on the West Coast. That year, the tournament took place in Burnaby with the Fraser Valley Phantom serving as host team and LHFDQ Nord winning the national championship. Alberta has hosted the Esso Cup four times, the most of any province in Canada. It has been held in Saskatchewan three times and Ontario twice, while Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have each hosted once.

Only one team has won multiple Esso Cups

The St. Albert Slash of the Alberta Female Hockey League (AFHL) have won the Esso Cup a record three times (2017, 2018, 2019). In fact, it is the only team to win multiple and consecutive Esso Cups. The Slash also became the first team from Alberta to capture the Esso Cup in 2017 when Tyra Meropoulis scored 14:41 into overtime to defeat the Harfangs de Triolet. The Stoney Creek Sabres are trying to join the Slash as back-to-back champions; national champs in Prince Albert last spring, they went 14-3-5 in the OWHA U18 AA league this year.

56 Esso Cup alumnae have gone on to wear the Maple Leaf

The Esso Cup has produced 56 players who have gone on to be part of Canada’s National Women’s Program, including two who have played for the National Women’s Team (Brigette Lacquette and Sophie Shirley). Most recently, two Esso Cup alumna (Jessie Pellerin and Stryker Zablocki) helped Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team win bronze at the 2024 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship.

The Esso Cup benefits girls’ hockey and the host communities

The 2024 Esso Cup host committee has prioritized the net profits from the event to be used to enhance the local women’s hockey community. As a result, 50 per cent of the proceeds will help create a Thompson-Okanagan Lakers post-secondary scholarship fund. The remaining 50 per cent will be used to create a grassroots development fund to support girls’ hockey in the Okanagan, which will help remove barriers to entry for aspiring young athletes such as equipment costs and registration fees.

Ticket packages are already on sale

Full-event packages are on sale for the 2024 Esso Cup! Watch all 19 games for $60, plus fees. With a full-event package, you save more on the price per game and guarantee your tickets to the gold medal game. And, you can share games with family and friends! To purchase tickets, click here.