Late last month, young hockey players as young as eight years old laced up their skates and competed in the Spring Hockey Cup Tournament at the Cube.
The Cube, hosting its largest tournament to date, welcomed 47 squads across five age brackets from all over California to play for a trophy and a championship banner.
All teams faced off on NHL, Olympic, and pond-sized ice sheets, with proud parents and siblings in the stands.
“Since it’s local, it makes it very convenient for us here, and there’s a lot of Flyers teams together in different divisions, so it makes it a lot of fun,” said Dario Brebric, a parent of a participant at the tournament.
But even as competitive as the tournament has become, the kids are having fun not only playing the game but also growing it.
While hockey may not be the most popular sport in California, tournaments like the Spring Hockey Cup are seen as big opportunities for aspiring players.
“It’s fun because, again, we get to play a new team how we haven’t played, and every day there are different games to watch,” said Christian Brebric, a local participant of the tournament.
“Well, tournaments in California are a big deal. We obviously don’t have the same hockey community as some other states back east or in the Midwest, but hockey is definitely growing in California,” said Matt Dugan, The Cube’s Assistant Manager.
“And it’s getting bigger every year, and tournaments like this help. We’ve hosted tournaments in the past,” said Dugan.
“We’ve had Labor Day and Memorial tournaments in the past, but we wanted to rebrand our Memorial tournament this year and make it the Spring Hockey Cup, and all the teams will get a cup if they win, and it really makes it something special and a little bit different,” said Dugan.
2025 Spring Hockey Cup at The Cube Aims to boost hockey popularity across Southern California
