Vancouver, B.C. – The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they will host the 2011 Young Stars Tournament in Penticton, British Columbia, beginning on Sunday, September 11th. For the second consecutive year, the Vancouver Canucks and the city of Penticton will host the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars Tournament: a round-robin tournament, featuring prospects from the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets from September 11-15.

“We are excited to host the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars Tournament in Penticton again this year,” said Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis. “The city of Penticton showed tremendous support for last year’s event and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to return to this great hockey city.”

“This tournament last year produced an economic impact of $1.8 million and not only showcased our beautiful community and state-of-the-art facility but also exposed the residents of the Okanagan to NHL caliber hockey. The caliber is fast, hard-hitting and intense,” said City Councilor and Committee Chair Andrew Jakubeit.

The Vancouver Canucks Young Stars tournament will begin on September 11th and will feature a number of notable NHL prospects from the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets. The 2010 Young Stars Tournament featured 20 players who dressed in NHL games during the 2010-11 season, including Mikael Backlund, Lance Bouma, Jordan Eberle, Benn Ferriero, Cam Fowler, Taylor Hall, Brandon McMillan, Brandon Mashinter, Magnus Paajarvi, Chris Tanev and Aaron Volpatti.

Tournament packages, which include a ticket to each of the eight games, will be available for purchase, starting at $80 plus applicable fees. The first game of the 2010 Young Stars Tournament was sold out with more than 29,000 tickets sold for the entire tournament.

Tournament ticket packages will go on sale July 16th at 10 am online at www.valleyfirstTIX.com, by phone at 1-877-763-2849 or in person at the South Okanagan Events Centre box office. Single game tournament tickets will be made available in mid-August. Please go to canucks.com for up-to-date information on the Young Stars Tournament. Game dates, times and opponents may be subject to change.

Vancouver Canucks Young Stars Tournament*

Game 1 Vancouver vs Edmonton Sept. 11 4:00 pm
Game 2 San Jose vs Calgary Sept. 11 7:30 pm
Game 3 Winnipeg vs San Jose Sept. 12 4:00 pm
Game 4 Calgary vs Vancouver Sept. 12 7:30 pm
Game 5 Winnipeg vs Edmonton Sept. 13 7:30 pm
Game 6 San Jose vs Vancouver Sept. 14 4:00 pm
Game 7 Edmonton vs Calgary Sept. 14 7:30 pm
Game 8 Winnipeg vs Vancouver Sept. 15 12:00 pm

*Game dates, times and opponents subject to change.