A Junior B hockey tournament that will attract thousands to New Brunswick will be held this month.

The Don Johnson Memorial Cup was supposed to be held in PEI, but last month the Kensington Vipers withdrew as host and the Delco Kent Koyotes stepped in.

Co-Chair Brian McGrath says it’ll be played from April 22 to 27 at the Cocagne Arena. Five teams from across Atlantic Canada are taking part this year, with players between the ages of 18 to 21 years old.

“It’s Junior B hockey, so it’s still very competitive. We have a lot of players who want to be more local in their community, and have less commitment to travel. These are players that maybe go to university full time, maybe work full time, and still continue playing hockey at a higher level. Most teams are made up of a lot of the local competitive kids in their area. It’s great to develop kids who want to continue playing competitive hockey but want to stay close to home and continue going to university or college. It’s a great, great opportunity for them to play at a higher level, and stay local,” McGrath says.

The Cup will feature 13 games, 10 round-robin games,  two semi-finals and then the finals.

The last two years, the Antigonish Bulldogs took home the Cup, and McGrath says they’ll be gunning for the win again this year.

“The Kent Koyotes have been to the Cup three years in a row, and we’re hoping to be very competitive at that tournament as well,” McGrath stressed.

The tournament is named after Don Johnson, who was heavily involved in junior hockey in Atlantic Canada, especially in Newfoundland and Labrador. Unfortunately, he has now passed, but a member of the family still comes to the finals and presents the Cup to the winning team.

The public is encouraged to attend and more information on tickets and game times can be found on the Kent Koyotes Facebook page.