For as much as 26 of the 31 teams that will be competing at the 2024 Big Nickel Major "AAA" International Hockey Tournament beginning this Thursday in Sudbury are registered in the U18 division, the fact is that this bracket also captures six of the top ten ranked teams in Ontario.

Throw in what should be a very intriguing U15 AAA match-up, potentially, between the Sudbury Wolves (#19) and the Eastern Ontario Wild (#21) and you still have the makings of a very exciting weekend for local hockey fans.

Leading the way among the elder statesmen are the Ajax Pickering Raiders and the Markham Majors, ranked number one and two in Ontario, joined by the defending tournament champions Waterloo Wolves (#8), along with the North Shore Whitecaps (# 6 - Oshawa and area), the Toronto Marlboros (#9) and Ottawa Jr 67's (#10).

The action kicks off Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at the Gerry McCrory Sports Complex, with a pair of local entries in the mix this year.

Ranked at #22 (of the 54 teams in Ontario in this division), the U18 AAA Sudbury Wolves will do battle with the Mississauga Senators (Thurs - 9:30 p.m. - CS#1), the Markham Waxers (Fri - 11:00 a.m. - CS#1), the North Shore Whitecaps (Fri - 8:00 p.m. - CS#1) and the CIH Academy (Sat - 11:00 a.m. - CS#1) in their preliminary encounters, hoping to secure one of eight quarter-final berths up for grabs.

Grouped in a bracket of just five teams, the U15 AAA Wolves will need to finish top two to earn a berth in the final (Sun - 11:00 a.m. - CS#1), but only after facing Okanagan Hockey Ontario (Thurs - 8:00 p.m. - CS#1), the Timmins Majors (Fri - 2:00 p.m. - C Cliff), the Soo Jr Greyhounds (Sat - 8:15 a.m. - CS#2) and the Eastern Ontario Wild (Sat - 2:00 p.m. - CS#1).

The 2024 tournament marks the 44th edition of the minor hockey "AAA" competition that was launched initially as a peewee only offering and has seen countless young players compete who would go on to star at the NHL level.