New BrunswickThe annual tournament gives scouts a chance to put players on their radar for the future as they mature and look to advance to the next level.’We get the best product from every Atlantic branch,’ says Hockey New Brunswick officialPrapti Bamaniya · CBC News · Posted: Oct 13, 2025 12:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoPlayers ranging from 13 to 16 years old were on the ice at the 28th Atlantic Challenge Cup in Moncton. (Victoria Walton/CBC)Chanelle Ouellette started playing hockey with her brother and sister when she was four years old.On Sunday, Ouellette helped New Brunswick’s female under-16 team win a silver medal in the 28th Atlantic Challenge Cup in Moncton that brings together the top young female and male hockey players in Atlantic Canada.From Grand Falls, N.B., Ouellette now attends Stanstead College, an independent boarding school in Quebec, and has big aspirations on the ice.“My goal is to make Team Canada and maybe go to the Olympics,” she said. “It’s going to be hard, but I really want it. I think I can do it.”Ouellette was among the dozens of players who suited up with under-14, under-15 and under-16 teams from Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for the three-day tournament at the Greenfoot Energy 4-Plex.Chanelle Ouellette, on New Brunswick’s female under-16 team, won an award for her performance at the tournament. Her team also won the silver medal in its division. (Victoria Walton/CBC)Teams are put together by high-performance programs in each province to determine the best players, said Matt Vautour, the technical director for Hockey New Brunswick. “A lot of these players are treating it like a job and serious business,” Vautour said. “They’re coming here, they’re dialed in, and that raises the level of competition here quite significantly. So we get the best product from every Atlantic branch.”Avery Mullins, who plays defence on New Brunswick’s male under-14 team, said he worked hard to get to the tournament.“It was definitely a hard team to make. We got a good team.”The annual tournament gives scouts a chance to put players on their radar for the future as they mature and look to advance to the next level.Matt Vautour and Katie Peddle are with Hockey New Brunswick. (Victoria Walton/CBC)Darrell Young was watching the ice closely for talent.An agent with Maloney & Thompson Sports Management, Young says some of the players who skated in the Atlantic Challenge Cup could even be destined for the Professional Women’s Hockey League or the National Hockey League.“In our position, we’re trying to project who’s going to be the best player between 18 and 23,” said Young. “Who has the ability to get better, who has the skills, mental aspects as well to keep getting better, is what we’re looking for.”Scouts like Darrell Young were at the tournament watching the young players. (Victoria Walton/CBC)Katie Peddle, the director of female hockey for Hockey New Brunswick, grew up playing in this tournament. But she said the end goal was different at the time since there was no pro women’s league in North America. But now, she said, she’s happy female players can go to the PWHL, which played its inaugural season in 2024. The next step for these players would be university teams, she said.Ouellette said the presence of the new women’s league provides motivation for young female players.“I think that it really inspires us to go to the next level.”ABOUT THE AUTHORPrapti Bamaniya is an associate producer with Information Morning Fredericton. She is a 2023 CBC Joan Donaldson Scholar and has previously worked as a reporter and producer for CBC newsrooms in London, U.K, Hamilton, and with the Health unit. She graduated with a bachelor’s of journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University in June 2023. You can reach her at prapti.bamaniya@cbc.ca. With files from Victoria Walton
Next generation of hockey stars suit up for 28th Atlantic Challenge Cup
