Zone 1, representing southeast Saskatchewan, emerged victorious at the 2013 Sask First bantam tournament I Regina on the weekend.
The annual showcase event features the top second-year bantams from eight zones across the province. Its timing makes it an especially important scouting event leading up to the Western Hockey League draft, which is taking place on May 2 in Calgary.
The Zone 1 team includes five players who are either from Estevan or played bantam AA hockey here.
Forwards Ty Brown and Colton Winton are Estevan products (Brown played with the Notre Dame bantam AAA Hounds this past season), while Midale forward Kolten Ganson, Carlyle forward Brady Third and Carlyle defenceman Cale Fleury have all played bantam in Estevan.
The Zone 1 squad defeated Zone 6 (Saskatoon) by a score of 6-3 on Sunday in the final. Third and Ganson were among the goal scorers.
Zone 1 began Friday with a 4-0 shutout win over Zone 4 (east central). They doubled up Zone 2 (Regina) 6-3 in their first game on Saturday, and earned a 6-2 win over Zone 3 (southwest) that evening.
Following the Sask First tournament, the top 40 players across the province are identified and invited to attend the Sask First summer camp.
The summer camp is used to help select players for the under-16 and under-17 teams that will compete at the respective Hockey Canada Program of Excellence tournaments.
