The 42nd annual Red Cup Showcase high school hockey tournament will begin Wednesday at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath.

The tournament will feature seven teams, including five local representatives as well as two mainland teams.

Joining the host Riverview Redmen in the tournament will be the Glace Bay Panthers, Memorial Marauders, Sydney Academy Wildcats, Dalbrae Dragons of Mabou, Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals of Antigonish, and Northumberland Nighthawks on Westville.

Riverview enters the Red Cup with a 15-1-0-0 record and is first overall in the Cape Breton High School Hockey League.

The Redmen are led offensively by Nathaniel Fuller, who currently leads the Cape Breton league with 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points in 15 games. Kendall MacQueen (11 goals, 9 assists, 20 points), A.J. Ley (6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points), and Chase Sampson (8 goals and 8 assists, 16 points) are also in the league’s top 10 in points.

The team has two experienced goaltenders in Michael MacMullen and Josh Leudy. MacMullen will play in his third Red Cup, while Leudy joined the team this year after playing with the Cape Breton Unionized Tradesmen of the major midget league.

Riverview has won the Red Cup four times since 2010.

Glace Bay will look to win its third Red Cup title in six years this week.

The Panthers — who last won the Red Cup 2016 — have an 11-2-3-0 record and are second overall in the Cape Breton High School Hockey League.

Glace Bay has one of the top offenses in the league and is led by Xavier Johnson with nine goals and 24 points. He’s followed closely by Logan Snow (11 goals and 12 assists, 23 points) and Matthew MacIntosh (12 goals and 7 assists, 19 points).

Jarrett Hicks (12 goals and 7 assists, 19 points), and Connor MacIntyre (4 goals and 12 assists, 17 points) are also in the league’s top 10 in points.

Colton Boutilier and Owen Coombes are the team’s goaltending duo. Boutilier is 5-1 with a 1.40 goals-against-average, while Coombes is 5-2 with a 2.24 goals-against-average.

Memorial has had a difficult season in the Cape Breton High School Hockey League when it comes to the win column, but is not a team to take for granted.

The Marauders are 4-12-1-1 in the Cape Breton league and sit third overall in the four-team division.

Nolan Ryan leads the team in points with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points and is followed closely by Dovi Walker (7 goals and 6 assists, 13 points), and Jacob Fraser (5 goals and 8 assists, 13 points).

Another player who is on the verge of breaking out is Kody Groves. He has three goals and six points in 11 games, but always seems to be in on the action and could very well have a big tournament for the team.

Aiden Penny and Cole Pygiel manage the crease for the Sydney Mines-based school.

COMPETING TEAMS:

• Riverivew Redmen, Coxheath, N.S.
• Sydney Academy Wildcats, Sydney, N.S.
• Glace Bay Panthers, Glace Bay, N.S.
• Memorial Marauders, Sydney Mines, N.S.
• Dalbrae Dragons, Mabou, N.S.
• Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals, Antigonish, N.S.
• Northumberland Nighthawks, Westville, N.S.

The Sydney Academy Wildcats are in last place in the Cape Breton league, but have progressed fairly well in their second year back in the league.

The team is 4-11-1-1 through 17 games, but the record doesn’t indicate the team’s talent. The Wildcats have had some fairly close games with the big guns in Riverivew and Glace Bay this season.

Sydney Academy can’t be taken for granted, considering they surprised many last month at the City of Lakes tournament in Dartmouth, where they advanced as far as the semifinals in the 16-team event.

Dalbrae Academy is the top team in the Cape Breton West High School Hockey League with an 11-0-2-0 record.

The Dragons have plenty of offense, and are led by former Rimouski Océanic draft pick Matthew Ellis, who leads the league with 19 goals and 32 points in 13 games.

Other players to watch on Dalbare are Griffin Spears, Jayden Muise, Keith MacDonell and Luke Gould, all of whom are among the league’s top 10 in points.

Dr. J.H. Gillis play in the five-team Northern Nova Scotia High School Hockey League and is currently in fourth place with a 4-7-1-1 record.

Seth Mattie leads the Antigonish school in points this year with 10 goals and four assists in 13 games, while Craig Landry is averaging a point per game with eight goals and four assists in 12 games.

The Royals have allowed the second-most goals against (54) in the league, while scoring the third-most goals for (38) through 13 games.

Northumberland is first overall in the Northern Nova Scotia league with an 10-3-1-0 record.

The team has scored the most goals (65) in the league, while allowing the third-fewest goals against (41) with netminders Brayden Leblanc and Cody MacDougall between the pipes.

Jayden Hatchard powers the offense for the Westville school with eight goals and 19 points, while Connor MacLeod has nine goals and seven assists, and Joseph Mason has notched nine goals and five assists.

The Red Cup Showcase will begin with two games Wednesday. The host Redmen will face the Marauders at 5 p.m., while Glace Bay plays Sydney Academy at 7 p.m.

The tournament semifinals are slated for Saturday morning, while the championship game is scheduled for later in the day at 4 p.m. at the Coxheath venue.

PAST RED CUP SHOWCASE WINNERS:

• 2000 – Riverview
• 2001 – King’s-Edgehill
• 2002 – Millwood
• 2003 – Glace Bay
• 2004 – Riverview
• 2005 – King’s-Edgehill
• 2006 – Memorial
• 2007 – Dr. J.H. Gillis
• 2008 – Riverview
• 2009 – Glace Bay
• 2010 – King’s-Edgehill
• 2011 – Riverview
• 2012 – Riverview
• 2013 – Riverview
• 2014 – King’s-Edgehill
• 2015 – Glace Bay
• 2016 – Glace Bay
• 2017 – Cancelled
• 2018 – Halifax West
• 2019 – Riverview

*Winners since 2000