World U-17 Hockey Challenge

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, originally known as the Quebec Esso Cup, is an international ice hockey tournament held annually in Canada. Prior to 2011, the tournament did not operate during years in which the Canada Winter Games were held. As such, the World Under-17 Challenge was held three out of every four years. It is organized by Hockey Canada and is the first major international competition for male hockey players under the age of 17. The tournament is the first step in Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence and is used to identify players moving on to the U18 and National Junior Team.

Origins
The inaugural World Under-17 Hockey Challenge took place in Quebec as the 1986 Quebec Esso Cup. At the time, it was considered the unofficial world championship of midget hockey. It was also used as a development tool for the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to identify players for further development as well as expose them to their first taste of international competition. The tournament was among ten teams, five regional teams from Canada, Finland, Czechoslovakia, U.S.A., Sweden, and the U.S.S.R. Team Quebec, led by future NHL first overall pick Pierre Turgeon captured gold by defeating the Soviets, who featured the likes of Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Mogilny.

Prior to November 2014, the tournament was held from late December through to early January. Originally, Canada would field five teams, selected on a regional basis.

Current tournament
The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge has continued to grow over the years to the point where it is perhaps the largest annual event administered under Hockey Canada's own auspices. Although the tournament is not sanctioned by the IIHF, it attracts U17 teams from the United States, Sweden, and Russia on an annual basis and Czech Republic, Finland, and Slovakia on a semi-annual basis.

The tournament is currently held in November of each year.

Participating teams
Canada enters three teams each year. Prior to November 2014, Canada entered five regional teams

Other participating nations have included:
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Notable players who have participated in this tournament
In bold, players selected first overall in the NHL entry draft


 * Pierre Turgeon, Team Quebec, 1986
 * Sergei Fedorov, Team USSR, 1986
 * Alexander Mogilny, Team USSR, 1986
 * Joe Sakic, Team Pacific, 1986
 * Jeremy Roenick, Team USA, 1986
 * Pavel Bure, Team Soviet Union, 1988
 * Mats Sundin, Team Sweden, 1988
 * Jere Lehtinen, Team Finland, 1990
 * Sami Kapanen, Team Finland, 1990
 * Martin Lapointe, Team Quebec, 1990
 * Nikolai Khabibulin, Team USSR, 1990
 * Chris Gratton, Team Ontario, 1992
 * Ethan Moreau, Team Ontario, 1992
 * Todd Harvey, Team Ontario, 1992
 * Jamie Storr, Team Ontario, 1992
 * Alexandre Daigle, Team Quebec, 1992
 * Éric Dazé, Team Quebec, 1992
 * Jocelyn Thibault, Team Quebec, 1992
 * Radek Bonk, Team Czechoslovakia, 1992


 * Viktor Kozlov, Team USSR, 1992
 * Adam Deadmarsh, Team Pacific, 1992
 * Darcy Tucker, Team Pacific, 1992
 * Niklas Sundström, Team Sweden, 1992
 * Danny Brière, Team Quebec, 1994
 * Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Team Quebec, 1994
 * Jarome Iginla, Team Pacific, 1994
 * Brad Larsen, Team Pacific, 1994
 * Bryan Berard, Team USA, 1994
 * Joe Thornton, Team Ontario, 1995
 * Roberto Luongo, Team Quebec, 1995
 * Patrick Marleau, Team West, 1995
 * Brian Gionta, Team USA, 1995
 * Scott Gomez, Team USA, 1995
 * Martin Hyun, Team Germany, 1995
 * Sascha Goc, Team Germany, 1995
 * Mikka Noronen, Team Finland, 1995
 * Vincent Lecavalier, Team Quebec, 1996
 * David Legwand, Team USA, 1996


 * Duncan Keith, Team Pacific, 2000
 * Ilya Kovalchuk, Team Russia, 2000
 * Joni Pitkänen, Team Finland, 2000
 * Ryan Kesler, Team USA, 2001
 * Alexander Ovechkin, Team Russia, 2002
 * Jack Johnson, Team USA, 2004
 * Phil Kessel, Team USA, 2004
 * Jonathan Toews, Team West, 2005
 * Eric Johnson, Team USA, 2005
 * Patrick Kane, Team USA, 2005
 * Taylor Hall, Team Ontario, 2008
 * Joshua Ho-Sang, Team Ontario, 2012
 * Aaron Ekblad, Team Ontario, 2012
 * Auston Matthews, Team USA, 2014
 * Mitchell Marner, Team Ontario, 2014
 * Matthew Tkachuk, Team USA, 2014
 * Brady Tkachuk, Team USA, 2015