For 40 years, the John Reid Memorial Tournament has hosted the top Bantam Major hockey players from all over North America, stationed in St. Albert (AB) northwest of Edmonton.

The name of the tournament was changed to the Greggs Distributors Tournament in 1993 to reflect the place of employment of St. Albert's Sabres head coach John Reid, and was then changed to its current name after the longtime coach and community pillar lost a long battle with cancer in 2003.

The tournament shifted its format to 16 teams in 2009, allowing for maximum diversity in competition. Canadian teams from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan have competed in the tourney. United States participants have included teams from Anaheim, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Seattle. HC Kolometa, a club from the Czech Republic, became the first European team to participate in the tournament in 2014.      

This year's battalion of teams includes 16 squads, with 14 Canadian teams and two teams from the United States. The two groups representing the U.S. are the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes and the Los Angeles Jr. Kings. 

In its current form, the John Reid Memorial Tournament has become a bonanza for Western Hockey League scouts and has produced some of the NHL's best, including Rod Brind'Amour, Scott Niedermayer, Jarome Iginla, and Jonathan Toews among others. 

Reid Pool A (Skybox Grill Division)

Rink Hockey Academy 

Delta Wild Academy Green

Lloydminster Bobcats 

Calgary Bisons

Reid Pool B (Canadian Brewhouse Division)

Burnaby Winter Club Academy

St. Albert Sabres

Yale Hockey Academy Lions 

Los Angeles Jr. Kings  

C2 Homes Division

Okanagan Hockey Academy Edmonton 

West Van Academy 

Forst Saskatchewan Rangers 

Calgary Flames

Remax Brian Cyr Division 

Phoenix Jr. Coyotes 

Red Deer Rebels

St. George's Saints

Notre Dame Hounds 

Connor Bedard, West Van Academy 

Bedard has been highly-publicized as the next great Canadian prospect, including a full story in The Hockey News. For now, we'll view him as a talented player whose 47 goals and 66 points in 19 games offer West Van a lethal scoring option.

Luke Roberts, St. Albert Sabres 

A wildly athletic goaltender and relentless competitor, Roberts turned in an outstanding performance during the 2016 North American Hockey Showcase for Team Alberta and will look to do the same this weekend.

Vincent Lamberti, Los Angeles Jr. Kings

The Kings have skated to a record of 21-10-3 entering the weekend, and a constant has been the quality play of Lamberti, who has been exposed to a number of these same Canadian teams at previous tournaments. Good lateral movement and a solid glove are the hallmarks of Lamberti's game. 

Jaden Lipinski, Phoenix Jr. Coyotes

Lipinski led the Jr. Coyotes in scoring at this fall's Western States Invitational, totaling six assists and seven points in five games. Lipinski's seven points were good for fourth among all skaters in the 2004 Division of the tournament.