Metro Detroit

MIHL Prep Showcase set to include more teams, and countries, than ever

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

There’s a point when logic says this event can’t get any bigger or any better.

There’s a time, somewhere down the line, when the ceiling must be reached.

Right?

Well, if that is the case, Andy Weidebach isn’t about to admit it.

In fact, as the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League president gets ready for the 2013 Prep Showcase, he’s speaking some familiar phrases.

“It’s like a constant upgrade every year,” he said with a laugh. “As time goes on, you work out the kinks and the bugs, and it continues to be so successful. I’ve said it in the past, but this is probably the biggest and best this showcase has ever been.”

Weidebach, who also serves as coach of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, will take his team, along with 42 others, to the Kennedy Recreation Center in Trenton for the 13th annual MIHL Showcase.

What began in 2001 as a collection of 12 team staying busy over the holiday break has blossomed into one of the most recognized and respected events on the hockey calendar.

The tournament runs Feb. 7-9.

“There’s so much support from our teams, but also the city of Trenton, the Trenton Hockey Association, and all the local sponsors,” Weidenbach said. “Those people and those groups help make this a first-class event.”

The 43 teams scheduled to appear is the most the Showcase has ever scheduled.

This year’s group also in-cludes three squads from Canada, one from Indiana and another from Wisconsin.

“The field has changed a little, a different flavor with the teams from out of country and out of state,” Weidenbach said. “It’s pretty cool, because these are all high-profile teams.”

Of the 43, all 10 MIHL teams are present — Grosse Pointe North, Trenton, Wyandotte, De La Salle, U of D Jesuit, Catholic Central, Cranbrook, Brother Rice, St. Mary’s and Port Huron Northern — along with others from just about every league in the state.

Other local teams in the tourney are Birmingham Unified, Detroit Country Day, Farmington Unified, Grosse Pointe South, Macomb Dakota, St. Clair Shores Unified and Grosse Pointe University Liggett.

Weidenbach said the expansion goes beyond just the numbers though, and includes live scoring online, online broadcasts of certain games, and the ever-present expectations of 10,000 fans and nearly 100 scouts ranging every level, from juniors to the NHL.

The schedule for this year’s event can be viewed by visiting www.MIHL.org and clicking on the Showcase link.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038. Follow Mike on Twitter.