Windsor and Essex County are about to get a dose of world-class summer hockey. The Windsor Spitfires and the City of Windsor announced they will host Canada’s national junior team as part of the upcoming 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase at the end of July.
The International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Junior Hockey Championships have been a staple around Christmas since the mid-1970s. Part of that is the Summer Showcase, which provides an opportunity for junior players from Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States to show their respective countries that they have the mettle to make their junior teams the following winter. Every summer, the four teams take part in the event in Plymouth, MI but this year, Windsor is joining forces to give fans a taste of world-class hockey.
Hockey Canada Approaches Windsor
The 2024 World Juniors Summer Showcase is in Plymouth from July 26 until Aug. 3, evaluating players before the 2025 World Juniors in Ottawa from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. Now, the WFCU Centre in Windsor is joining the party.
Since it opened in December 2008, the WFCU Centre has hosted multiple national and provincial events, including the 2009 Canadian Hockey League’s (CHL) Canada/Russia Super Series, the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game, and the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The Spitfires also hosted and won the 2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup.
Related: Spitfires Capture 2017 Memorial Cup
Recently, Hockey Canada approached the Spitfires and the City of Windsor about accommodating the Summer Showcase event. After careful planning, fans will get to see a trio of events in their own backyard. On Mon., July 29, Team Canada has a free, open-to-the-public practice from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The next day, on Tues., July 30, Canada plays a Blue-and-Red Game, and that’s followed by a match with Sweden on Wed., July 31. Both games are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 per game or $45 for the two-game package.
Choosing the WFCU Centre to host shows that Hockey Canada is well aware of the region. After the press conference, Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens said Hockey Canada not only trusts the City of Windsor but also the Spitfires’ ownership group to get the job done.
“Hockey Canada selected the City of Windsor because they know the caliber of the facility but they also have trust in the ownership group of the Spitfires,” he said. “It’s a combination of a good facility and good leadership that makes an event like this possible. We’re blessed to have great ownership group and a great facility in our backyard.”
Hockey Canada is expected to name the participating players within the next week or so.
Stepping Stone for Future World Juniors?
The City of Windsor and the City of Detroit have long joined forces to bring events to the region that can benefit both communities. Dilkens said this is another opportunity for the community to come together.
“Never underestimate the power of sport bringing a community together,” he said. “…The Windsor Express (Canadian Basketball League (CBL)), the Spitfires and the Memorial Cup, the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit and how Windsor benefited. We’re really a sporting community. Having the opportunity to host these events gives the community another amenity to enjoy in building Windsor’s future…”
With the WFCU Centre’s hosting resume, could we see them co-hosting a future World Juniors with Detroit, which has Little Caesars Arena (capacity 19,515) just a stone’s throw from the border? Dilkens said a local bid was put in with London, ON in 2016 but Vancouver, BC won instead. However, they’ve built up their resume since then.
“Anything is possible, and we’re always looking for opportunities,” he said “It’s something that we tried to go after in the past … If you look at the hosting we’ve had here, plus other opportunities that Detroit has been working on, I think the stars are starting to align in the universe that we may be able to host that type of event in our region.”
Ottawa is hosting the 2025 World Juniors, the 2026 event is slated for Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN, and 2027 is in Edmonton and Calgary, AB. In January, IIHF President Luc Tardif said that Hockey Canada has an agreement with the IIHF to host World Junior tournaments every second year until 2034. Will that open the door for Windsor to co-host with Detroit? We’ll have to wait and see.
