Alberta scores $85 million in revenue during World Juniors

CALGARY – The City of Calgary is bidding a fond farewell to the World Junior hockey teams with a big send off at the Calgary International Airport.

Players and coaches are being given another taste of western hospitality before they board their flights from the Calgary Fiddlers.

Team Canada goalie Scott Wedgewood says while his team fell short of their goal, they’re still pleased with their performance.

“It’s not what we came here for obviously we wanted a gold to bring that back to Canada but you know it’s us and the team and it’s still something to be proud of. We take pride in hockey and to walk away with a medal is something to behold for us to cherish for a long time.”

Team Canada players will be going separate ways; Wedgewood will rejoin his junior team the Plymouth Whalers in Detroit while other players will scatter to their respective homes.

“We had a great group of guys this year and we came together really quickly. We spent 26 days together and it feels like it’s been four months,” says Wedgewood.

Many of the players hope to have bright futures in the NHL.

Meanwhile, officials are saying this year’s championship was the most successful World Juniors tournament in history. More than 600,000 tickets were sold to the games.

Edmonton and Calgary racked in $85 million throughout the two week tournament with 35,000 visitors and 12,000 hotel bookings.