MHR Weekly Wrap: St. Louis AAA Blues Storm into Calgary and Leave with Circle K Gold Medal
Circle K Classic Photo
While many youth hockey clubs and families continued to enjoy a short holiday break, three minor hockey organizations in Calgary hosted one of the most prestigious tournaments of the season. The annual Circle K Classic was the last big North American event of 2025 and concluded in the new year, running from Dec. 27 through Jan. 1.
All of MYHockey Rankings' Week 14 top 10 Western Canada U18 Boys AAA teams gathered in Calgary, Alberta, along with some top Tier 1 teams from the United States.
The longest-running U18 AAA hockey tournament in Western Canada, the Circle K Classic has been hosted jointly by the Calgary Buffaloes, Calgary Flames, Calgary Northstars and Calgary Royals, all members of the Alberta Elite Hockey League (AEHL), since 1978. Those organizations have produced six of the past 20 Alberta provincial Boys 18U AAA champions.
This year’s tournament was played at Max Bell Centre and Seven Chiefs Sportsplex in Calgary and included 32 teams from the AEHL, the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL), the British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL), the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) and USA Hockey grouped into eight four-team pools.
According to the MHR pre-tournament Week 14 18U AAA Rankings, the tournament field included each of Western Canada’s top 10 teams, 18 of the top 20 and 23 of the top 30. In addition, the USA’s eighth-ranked St. Louis AAA Blues made the trip to Calgary along with four other teams ranked among the top 40 in the U.S. (Sioux Falls Power, Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, Team Maryland and Chicago Mission).
The tournament field was so strong that the Regina Pat Canadians entered play as MHR's No. 13 team in Western Canada and moved all the way up to the top spot before falling to sixth-ranked Edge School of Calgary in a 2-1 overtime quarterfinal thriller.
Pool 5, which included three of Western Canada’s Week 14 top 10 teams – the No. 4 Vancouver NE Chiefs, No. 8 Calgary Northstars and No. 10 South Alberta Hockey Academy – appeared to be this year’s Pool of Death going into the tourney, but none of those teams edvanced past the "Sweet 16."
This Circle K Classic once again utilized a “Sweet Sixteen” format, introduced into 2025 to enhance competition and provide more teams with an opportunity to compete for the championship. The top two teams from each of the eight pools advanced past the round-robin stage into the “Sweet Sixteen” bracket, ensuring high-intensity matchups and an elevated level of play throughout the week.
Tournament games, which ran daily from 12 p.m. EST through midnight, still can be watched via web stream at www.flohockey.tv.
The USA's eighth-ranked St. Louis AAA Blues went on to capture the gold medal, leaving behind an impressive trail of victories over Western Canada's No's 2, 6, 8 and 12 teams. St. Louis earned the tournament title with a 2-1 win vs. Western Canada's No. 2 Northern Alberta Xtreme.
Below please find the final pool standings for the Circle K Classic along with the Sweet 16, quarterfinal, semifinal and championship-game results and links to all pertinent tournament information.
2026 Circle K Classic Participating Teams & Pools (Pre-tournament Rankings)
Pool 1
#13 Regina Pat Canadians (3-0-0, 9 pts)
#18 Burnaby Winter Club Academy (2-1-0; 5 pts)
#7 Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (2-1-0; 4 pts)
#31 Shawnigan Lake School (0-3-0; 0 pts)
Pool 2
#3 Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna (3-0-0; 9 pts)
#15 Moose Jaw Warriors (2-1-0; 5 pts)
#12 Calgary Buffaloes (1-2-0; 4 pts)
#50 (USA) Team Illinois (0-3-0; 0 pts)
Pool 3
#8 (USA) St. Louis AAA Blues (3-0-0; 6 pts)
#23 Prairie Hockey Academy (2-1-0; 6 pts)
#9 Edmonton Jr. Oilers Blue (2-1-0; 6 pts)
#25 Red Deer Chiefs (0-3-0; 0 pts)
Pool 4
#1 Northern Alberta Xtreme (3-0-0; 9 pts)
#33 (USA) Team Maryland (2-1-0; 6 pts)
#29 Calgary Royals (0-2-1; 1 pt)
#14 Cariboo Cougars (0-3-0; 1 pt)
Pool 5
#4 Vancouver NE Chiefs (2-1-0; 6 pts)
#57 (USA ALL) Lake Forest Academy (2-1-0; 5 pts)
#8 Calgary Northstars (1-2-0; 4 pts)
#10 South Alberta Hockey Academy (1-2-0; 3 pts)
Pool 6
#16 St. Albert Raiders (3-0-0; 7 pts)
#6 Calgary Edge School (2-1-0; 7 pts)
#23 (USA) Sioux Falls Power (1-2-0; 3 pts)
#41 Warman Wildcats (0-3-0; 1 pt)
Pool 7
#2 Calgary Flames (2-1-0; 6 pts)
#24 Thompson Blazers (2-1-0; 6 pts)
#32 (USA) Phoenix Jr. Coyotes (1-2-0; 3 pts)
#17 OHA Edmonton (1-2-0; 3 pts)
Pool 8
#5 Okanagan Rockets (2-1-1; 6 pts)
#10 Calgary International Hockey Academy (2-1-1; 6 pts)
#30 Okotoks Oilers (1-2-0; 3 pts)
#40 (USA) Chicago Mission (1-2-0; 3 pts)
Sweet 16 Playoff Results (Pre-tournament Rankings)
#15 Moose Jaw Warriors 3, #1 Northern Alberta Xtreme 6
#33 (USA) Team Maryland 6, #2 Calgary Flames 5
#23 Prairie Hockey Academy 1, #10 CIHA 8
#24 Thompson Blazers 4, #16 St. Albert Raiders 8
#5 Okanagan Rockets 3, #8 (USA) St. Louis AAA Blues 6
#57 (USA ALL) Lake Forest Academy 0, #13 Regina Pat Canadians 3
#6 Edge School 3, #4 Vancouver NE Chiefs 2 (OT)
Quarterfinal Results (Week 15 Rankings)
#28 (USA) Team Maryland 2, #2 Northern Alberta Xtreme 3
#8 (USA) St. Louis AAA Blues 5, #12 St. Albert Raiders 2
#13 CIHA 3, #4 RHA Kelowna 4 (OT)
#6 Edge School 2, #1 Regina Pat Canadians 1 (OT)
Semifinal Results (Week 15 Rankings)
#6 Edge School 1, #8 (USA) St. Louis AAA Blues 6
#4 RHA Kelowna 1, #2 Northern Alberta Xtreme 5
Gold Medal Game (Week 15 Rankings)
#8 (USA) St. Louis AAA Blues 2, #2 Northern Alberta Xtreme 1
Trenton Stark scored in the first period and assisted on Carson Clukies' goal in the final frame to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead that goalie Marcus Johnson and the Blues' D never would relinquish.
Ahmad Fayad scored for NAX with 5:06 left in the third period, but Johnson would hold off the Xtreme the rest of the way to finish with a 27-save victory. Karter Gibson stopped 27 shots for NAX, with Jim Cruz and Levi Ellingsen assisting on the lone goal. Desmond Allman, Dillen Grupe and Theo Vantine each notched one assist for the champs
CLICK HERE to see all of the Day 5/6 Players of the Game
CLICK HERE for the complete schedule & all game results
CLICK HERE for updated tournament standings
CLICK HERE for the digital tournament program
CLICK HERE for all team rosters
CLICK HERE for skater statistics
CLICK HERE for goalie statistics
