GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB – Four teams are set to go head to head to earn a berth in the 2004 RBC Royal Bank Cup Championship game. The Championship game will be played at the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie at 5:30pm (MT), 7:30pm (ET) on Sunday, May 16 and will be broadcast live across the country on The Sports Network, TSN and its french equivalent, RDS.

In Saturday’s second semi-final, the first place Grande Prairie Storm (Host) will face the Kindersley Klippers (West Region) at 7:30pm (MT) at the Crystal Centre. Grande Prairie finished the round robin portion of the tournament with a 3-1 record, while Kindersley wrapped up the round robin with a 1-3 record. The two clubs faced each other on the Saturday of round robin play, with Grande Prairie coming out on top 5-3.

The Aurora Tigers (Central Region) will face off against the Nepean Raiders (East Region) in Saturday’s first semi-final at 2:00pm (MT). Aurora finished the round robin with a 3-1 record, while Nepean finished with a 2-2 record. The two teams met each other during the round robin, with Aurora skating away with a 3-1 win.

Earlier in the evening, at the 2004 RBC Royal Bank Cup awards ceremony, a special presentation was made by Canadian Junior "A" Hockey League President, Marty Knack, to Nick Johnson of the St.Albert Saints (AJHL Junior Hockey League). Nick was the recipient of the RBC Financial Group Canadian Junior "A" Player-of-the-Year Award.
Nick, 18, has just completed a very successful 2nd season in the AJHL, capturing a series of league awards, including Most Dedicated Player.

Nick scored 35 goals and added 36 assists in 2003-04.
The 6’2, 180lb forward will be attending Dartmouth University in 2004-05 on an athletic scholarship.

Nick Johnson’s Highlights for 2003-04
GP – 51 G – 35 A – 36 PTS – 71 PIM – 33 PPG – 6 SHG – 4 GWG – 3
AJHL Most Dedicated | AJHL First Team All-Star
Ranked 65th by Central Scouting for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft

The RBC Financial Group Canadian Junior "A" Player-of-the-Year Award goes to the Canadian Junior "A" hockey player who has, during the 2003-04 season, best combined hockey skills and achievement with community involvement.

In addition to the Player-of-the-Year Award, six individual 2004 RBC Royal Bank Cup awards and a national scholarship were handed out at the awards ceremony.

Winners were as follows:

Most Valuable Player– Kevin Dziaduck (Kindersley Klippers)
Top Scorer – Josh Welter (Grande Prairie Storm)
Top Forward – Scott McCulloch (Grande Prairie Storm)
Top Defencemen – Kyle Radke (Grande Prairie Storm)
Top Goaltender– Chris Whitley (Aurora Tigers)

Most Sportsmanlike Player – Grant Clitsome (Nepean Raiders)

RBC Financial Group Canadian Junior "A" Scholarship National Winner – Adam Kinnaird (Fort Saskatchewan Traders)