Hockey PEI has announced that the Kensington Jr. B Vipers have been selected to host the 2019 Atlantic Junior B Championships also known as the Don Johnson Memorial Cup.   The Vipers will host the event at the newly renamed Kensington Credit Union Centre from April 23-28, 2019.

The championship will crown the top Junior B team from the region and be awarded the prestigious Don Johnson Memorial Cup.  Teams will include Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, a PEI representative from the Island Junior Hockey League and the host team Kensington Vipers.

The Island Junior Hockey League is comprised of the Kensington Vipers, Eastern Maniacs, Sherwood Falcons and the defending league champion Western Red Wings.  The Kensington Vipers claimed the Don Johnson Memorial Cup in both 2011 and 2013.

The tournament will consist of ten round robin games followed by two semi-finals and the Championship game on Sunday April 28^th.

The Kensington Vipers were successful in their bid attempt after thorough review of all bids by the selection committee comprised of members of Hockey PEI.  Hockey PEI looks forward to working with the Event Host Committee to provide a first class event.

"My host committee and I look forward to working with our great volunteers in Kensington as well as the great staff at Credit Union Centre to assure a great Don Johnson Memorial cup" stated Vipers General Manager Pat McIver.  "Our experience attending 12 of the past 15 Don Johnson Cup tournaments will prove invaluable as we strive to make sure fans, players, staff and officials have a memorable experience in 2019."

For more information on the Don Johnson Cup, visit their website at: www.djcup.ca

Don Johnson Memorial Cup

The Don Johnson Memorial Cup, formerly the Don Johnson Cup, is the Junior B championship for Atlantic Canada.  Known for many years as the Don Johnson Cup, the trophy and championship is an honour to Mr. Johnson who was a pioneer of hockey not only in his native Newfoundland and Labrador, but also a pioneer of hockey across Canada.

Don Johnson was President of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1975-79, and had been an Honoured Life Member of Hockey Canada since 1982.

One of the most beloved sports figures in Atlantic Canada, Johnson touched countless lives in almost 50 years involved in hockey, from his time as president of the St. John's Senior Hockey League to his countless appearances at the Hockey Canada Annual General Meeting, where he made sure his voice was heard in discussions on how to make the game better.

In 1975, Johnson was elected president of the CAHA, and played a major role in Canada's return to international competition in the late 1970s. He was instrumental in the creation of the Canada Cup and enhanced Canada's reputation within international hockey, serving as chairman of the 1978 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal, the first World Juniors to be held in Canada, where he helped lay the groundwork for the holiday tradition as we know it today.

In addition to his Honoured Life Member status with Hockey Canada, Johnson was a Life Member of Hockey Newfoundland & Labrador, Softball Newfoundland & Labrador and Sport Newfoundland & Labrador, and is in the Newfoundland & Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame and Canada Games Council Hall of Honour.