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South Okanagan city listed as one of North America’s must-visit hockey towns

Expedia lists Penticton among 22 other cities
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Penticton has been named as one of the must-visit hockey towns in North America.

The list of 22 locations, chosen by Expedia, said qualifications to be designated a must-visit hockey town include the connection to the iconic pastime — through deep history, loyal fans, contributions to the sport or all of the above.

While the post erroneously states Penticton’s junior A hockey roots only go back to 1961 — the team won the world championship in 1955 — they do laud the city for Okanagan Hockey Group.

Related: 1955 World Championship V’s were the ‘Cinderella Kids’

In 1963 Larry Lund founded Okanagan Hockey Group and it has become an icon in the hockey camp industry. From that, Okanagan Hockey Academy was born. The hockey machine has seen at least 13 alumni drafted to the NHL since 2010.

Related: More growth for Okanagan Hockey Group

The Penticton Vees have also graduated many players on to collegiate hockey and players drafted to NHL teams. In the 2017-18 there were 11 Vees alum that played with NHL teams including Duncan Keith, Tyson Jost, Zac Dalpe and Troy Stecher.

Related: Penticton’s rich in hockey history

Other B.C. cities chosen to the Expedia list are Vancouver, North Cowichan and Duncan. Also included on the list are Detroit, Mich., Pittsburgh, Penn., Edmonton, Alta., Antigonish, N.S., Windsor, N.S., Saskatoon, Sask., Kingston, Ont., Plaster Rock, N.B., Sherbrooke, Que., San Jose, Calif., Gravenhurst, Ont., Thunder Bay, Ont., Buffalo, N.Y., Kirkland Lake, Ont., Owen Sound, Ont., Prince Albert, Sask., Huntsville, Ont., Flin Flon, Man. and Minneapolis - St. Paul, Minn.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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