Alex Kaleta
Canmore’s Alex Kaleta may have been best known for inspiring the now commonly used term “hat-trick”. Kaleta played his rookie year with Chicago in 1941. The story goes that he entered Sammy Taft’s hat shop in Toronto and asked to have a hat set aside. Taft said that he would give Kaleta the hat if he scored three goals that night. Alex succeeded and became the recipient of the first ever “hat trick” in the NHL. Kaleta retired in 1951, after playing for Chicago and the New York Rangers. Settling in Medicine Hat, he coached the Medicine Hat Tigers, was the Recreation Director for the city and then Arena Manager until his retirement in 1984.
Judy Colpitts
Judy Colpitts involvement in hockey started at a community level with her son’s team, but she soon found her place at the grassroots of women’s hockey and by 1992, she was the female hockey chair for the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association. Judy was an integral part of women’s hockey being added to the Alberta Winter Games in 1994 and her ongoing efforts have been recognized provincially with two Hockey Alberta Development Awards and the President’s Award in 1995. From 1995-98 she sat on the Hockey Alberta board as Director from Calgary Minor Hockey and was the Co-Chair of the 1998 Esso Women’s Nationals held in Calgary.
Glenn Hall
Glenn Hall is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and a two-time Stanley Cup champion, as a player with Chicago in 1962 and as a coach with Calgary in 1989.
Glenn’s NHL career started in 1952-53 with the Detroit Red Wings, and continued until 1970-71 with the St. Louis Blues. Glenn started in over 500 consecutive league games, in addition to playoff games, a record that likely will never be broken, accumulated 407 regular season NHL victories, and a lifetime .917 goals against average.
George McCorry
George McCorry was involved in officiating for more than four decades, dating back to 1966. He held numerous leadership positions within the Hockey Alberta Referee’s Council, instructed at Hockey Alberta Development Camps, and developed the NRCP Level 4-6 exams.
On the ice, George worked competitive hockey in Alberta and internationally, including representing Canada at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Recognition includes the Alberta Sport Council Award and a Life Member of the Hockey Alberta Referee’s Council.
Howard Wurban
For more than 30 years, Howard Wurban was involved at numerous levels of hockey, working in development, officiating, coaching, administration and as a board member with the Hockey Alberta Foundation. During his 17 years as the General Manager of Hockey Alberta, he initiated a number of programs, including Zone Teams, Atom 4 on 4, Jamborees, Sledge Hockey, Inline and Pond Hockey.
Howard was the Director of the World Junior Championships in 1995, received the President’s Award for exceptional service to hockey in Alberta in 2000, and the Hockey Alberta Centennial Award in 2007.
Drumheller Miners (1965-66)
As the 1966 Allan Cup champions, and considered one of the best senior hockey teams ever, the Drumheller Miners were nothing short of local legends. A fire destroyed their arena just before the 1965-66 season, forcing them to play “home” games in Hanna. Then, after winning the Alberta title, the CAHA moved Drumheller’s remaining “home” games to Calgary. Nevertheless, the Miners filled rinks wherever they played as they generated province-wide support for their Allan Cup quest. The Miners even attracted media prominence as both of Calgary’s daily newspapers assigned writers to cover the team. The following season the Miners represented Canada on a European tour including the Bunny Ahearne Tournament in Sweden.
Lethbridge Maple Leafs (1950-51)
The 1950-1951 Lethbridge Maple Leafs represented Canada at the World Amateur Ice Hockey Championships in Paris, France. The Leafs left Lethbridge December 17, 1950 to tour Europe for three months.
At one point the team had a 44-game winning streak, before winning the world title March 17, 1951. Although crowned World Amateur Champions they were not done, stopping off in England on their trip home to capture the Winston Churchill Trophy beating teams from England and the United States.
