The Dauphin Kings have arrived in Estevan ahead of the Centennial Cup which begins on Friday for the club as they battle the Ottawa Jr. Senators of the Central Canada Hockey League.
Dauphin booked their berth to the national championship by beating the Steinbach Pistons in a seven-game thriller, capped off by a 2-1 win at the T.G. Smith Centre.
It's Dauphin's first appearance at the nationals since 2014 when they played in the event in Vernon. Christian Laughland was there as the voice of the team and is now the Mayor of Dauphin.
He says it's incredible how much support the team has received during the playoff run and he knows that will continue into Affinity Place.
"I think I can speak on behalf of the entire community and say we are so proud of the organization," said Laughland.
Laughland has had the opportunity to be a part of national championship games on three occasions, once when Dauphin hosted the event in 2010, the 2014 event in Vernon as noted above and he was invited by Hockey Canada to call games at the 2015 event in Portage. He provided colour commentary and did interviews in 2010 while he did play-by-play in 2014 and 2015. Laughland says getting the chance to be a part of three national championships was very special.
"It's a ton of fun to be a part of the nationals," said Laughland. "There is also a ton of things going on behind the scenes that I got the chance to be a part of."
This year's event is unique in 10 teams will take part, that's five more than in a normal year. Teams from coast to coast with the exception of the British Columbia Hockey League -- who are no longer a part of Hockey Canada - will take part.
The Brooks Bandits will enter the tournament as favourites, they downed Spruce Grove in five games to win the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
In closing, Christian said 'Go Kings Go' and he wishes the team the very best in their quest for a national title.
