Kelowna hosts world jr. tilt

Photo: Wayne Moore/file

Evgeni Malkin captained Russia at the 2006 world juniors in Kelowna.

Kelowna has been tabbed to host a pre-tournament game leading up to the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championships.

Russia and Sweden will face off Dec. 18 at Prospera Place in the first of 12 exhibition games prior to the world juniors, which run in Vancouver and Victoria from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.

“The Kelowna Rockets are very happy to be partnering with Hockey Canada and Prospera Place to bring this exciting game to Kelowna,” said Rockets president and GM Bruce Hamilton.

“Sweden and Russia are consistently two of the best teams in the world, and for our fans, this game will be a real treat."

Kelowna co-hosted the international tournament the last time it was in B.C. in 2006.

Current NHL stars Evgeni Malkin, David Krejčí, Alexander Radulov, Nicklas Bäckström and Alex Edler all played numerous games at Prospera Place during the 2006 tournament.

“Kelowna has a proven track record of hosting events of this calibre, and getting the chance to showcase the best junior players in the world on Canadian ice is something young fans will remember for a long time,” said Scott Smith, president of Hockey Canada.

Hamilton says the pre-tournament game is a complimentary "bonus" game for season ticket holders.

Ticket information will be released on Thursday, with Rockets season ticket holders having a special pre-buy period to purchase extra tickets.