Eight Cochrane area U15 hockey players have been selected to play in the Alberta Cup in Red Deer, Apr. 24-28.

Seamus Dillon, Matthew Hilderman, Kale McCann and Kingston Sauter will be playing for Alberta Black, and Jensen Marsh, Daniel Vaillant, Lief Oaten, and Linden Sobocan have all earned spots on the Alberta Blue.

Alec Miller, head coach of the Airdrie Xtreme and tournament coordinator and goaltending coach for P3 Sports, has coached and help train many of them over the years. He says the 2009 birth class is exceptionally strong in Cochrane.

"I'm super happy," says Miller. "There were tons and tons from Cochrane. Of the eight, we had six from the Xtreme make it, so it's super strong showing from our local hockey talent."

Also selected from the Xtreme were Zachery Hall and Aden Bouchard of Airdrie.https://cochranenow.com/articles/pa-raiders-gm-high-on-cochrane-picks

While he's not coaching in the Alberta Cup, he'll be there.

"I'll be there, 100 per cent. I went up last weekend and watched some of the try-out games and supported the boys. I'll be there game one for sure."

Miller has finished his first season as head coach of the Xtreme and it's been a dream of his to coach AAA hockey. Before that, he was proud to have coached in Cochrane's AA Timberwolves program.

"We won a couple championships with the Timberwolves with a lot of those guys. So, you know, they've been around the local rinks and having success with Cochrane Minor Hockey. It's great to see them now as their careers advance to get the notoriety and the opportunities that they deserve with Hockey Alberta."

In the Alberta Cup, two teams from each of the north, central and south regions of the province are facing off against each other in a modified round-robin tournament. Each of the six teams is comprised of two goaltenders, six defence and 12 forwards.

Last year, three Cochrane players advanced to Alberta Cup teams.

The Alberta Cup kicks of Hockey Alberta’s Spring Showcase. It's followed by the Alberta Challenge and the Prospects Cup. All three are being hosted by Red Deer.

It also occurs a week before the WHL prospect draft for emerging U15 players on May 8-9. Last year, several members of the Xtreme and Cochrane Minor Hockey were drafted, including number two overall pick Riley Boychuk.

Miller has been named head coach of Capital Green team in the U13 Prospects Cup and will be returning as head coach for the Airdrie Xtreme next season.

The selection camps for the Prospects Cup are April 12-14. This weekend spring camp opens for the Xtreme in Airdrie.