The Ontario Hockey League Showcase for the OHL Cup hosted by the GTHL will be played at the Herbert Carnegie Centennial Arena in North York on March 27-30, 2003.
The tournament will feature the top 12 minor midget teams in Ontario, as determined by each federation playoff format, along with four teams from the U.S.A. will be invited to participate in the tournament.
"The Ontario Hockey League is very proud to continue our support of minor hockey at the grassroots level with the sponsorship of this tournament," stated OHL Commissioner David Branch. "We look forward to an outstanding four days of hockey played by 16 of the best minor midget hockey teams.
"We are pleased to welcome the opportunity to form a partnership with the GTHL on this prestigious event and in so doing provide a year-end focus event for the minor midget category given the age change," concluded Branch.
The OHL Showcase Tournament will be hosted and co-ordinated through the GTHL office.
"This new and exciting joint partnership between the Ontario Hockey League and the Greater Toronto Hockey League will afford a unique opportunity, not otherwise available, for successfully rated minor midget teams to annually display the real skills of their players," said GTHL President John Gardner.
"These teams will in turn have the opportunity to assess their own abilities as they reach this important crossroads in their development," Gardner concluded.
Invitations for the tournament will be extended to the champion and finalist from each division of the Ontario Hockey Federation and branches of the OHF, ODHA and Thunder Bay.
OHL Central Scouting will rank the top teams in the province on a weekly basis, which will be announced each Tuesday during the season as the "Road to the OHL Cup."
Photo: GTHL President John Gardner (left) and OHL Commissioner David Branch introduced the OHL Showcase Tourntment for the OHL Cup hosted by the GTHL at a media conference in Toronto on Tuesday.
