NHL and QMJHL Players and Alum Playing for a Cause

With six teams and more than eighty players involved, MacDonald Auto Group’s Because You Care Cup Draft Hockey Tournament is ready to get underway August 3- 5, 2018 at the Membertou Sports and Wellness Centre.

With every team including at least one Quebec Junior Major Hockey League player and even a former NHL local legend, Shaun Van Allen, this tournament is sure to be great hockey for an even better cause.

Many of the players who will be participating have been playing in this tournament for years and some have particularly personal reasons for giving back. "Both of my grandmothers went through cancer treatment and I know how important it is to give back," says Mitchell Balmas, who was recently traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. "Cancer research is so important to create better care and if we can play hockey to make it happen here in Cape Breton, I think that’s amazing."

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles donated all jerseys and the Membertou Sports and Wellness Centre have offered the ice surface at no cost. Because of this generosity, all funds raised will be supporting cancer research in Cape Breton through the 2018 Because You Care Cup Road Hockey tournament to take place September 15th and 16th in Membertou.

"We are thrilled by the people who support this," says Jim MacDonald of the MacDonald Auto Group, who organizes this event. "With such high quality hockey, mixed with fun and fundraising, we can’t wait to hit the ice." MacDonald, who organizes the tournament every year, wants to make sure the hospital is supported, "We all have family who use the cancer centre, so it’s important that we give back when we can."

This year’s Because You Care Cup, presented by Aucoin’s Renovations and Advanced Insulations, will be held in Membertou for the second year in a row and more than 80 players are expected to fill the streets. The cancer research that will be partially funded by the tournament will support clinical trials that will help determine new ways to treat and manage cancer. "With more than 1,950 new cancer diagnoses in Cape Breton last year, we know that important research can be performed in our hospital," says Brad Jacobs, CEO of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation. "Clinical trials are an important way to determine new and innovate treatment plans and creating innovative ways to improve the quality of life for cancer patients all over Canada and even the world."