Markham-Stouffville U13 girls ready for big ‘stage’ at Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament

By Gene Pereira, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Scott Howes got to participate in some pretty memorable games through his hockey career.

The now 38-year-old suited up in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, playing forward with the Drummondville Voltigeurs for a year before finishing his junior career in 2007-08 with the Saint John Sea Dogs, where he exploded for 42 goals and 70 points in 59 games.

His pro career included AHL stops with the Manitoba Moose and Bridgeport Sound Tigers, along with several seasons with various teams in the East Coast Hockey League.

He even played a couple of seasons in Austria and Denmark over his eight-year career.

All pretty cool things to experience in the game of hockey, but the head coach of the Markham-Stouffville Stars Girls U13 AA team says that he’s never been on the stage, at their age, that his 16 players are about to step on early next year.

The Markham-Stouffville team is just one of 12 girls’ teams invited to take part in the 66th Quebec International Pee-wee Hockey Tournament running Feb. 11-22, 2026 at the Videotron Centre and Pavillon Guy-Lafleur in Quebec City.

“I can’t say enough about how good a group they are,” Howes said of his team. “They deserve everything that they’re getting through this opportunity.”

 The only girls’ team selected from Ontario, this marks the first time a team from the local organization will suit up in the same tournament that hockey icons like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Guy Lafleur played in.

“It’s such a great experience and opportunity for our organization and, of course, the girls,” said Howes. “It’s a phenomenal opportunity. It’s really, really cool. Something that, just with the age itself, they’ll never be able to experience again.

“It’s a great opportunity.”

The opportunity to take part in the prestigious tournament came about after the team’s manager filled out an application.

“The parents all jumped at the opportunity, not knowing whether (we would be accepted),” said Howes. “It’s hard to get into these things. Just to put our name on an application and go forward, it was a pretty cool process.”

It took over six weeks before the Stars learned they had been accepted to take part.

Howes knows this will be something the young girls will remember for the rest of their lives.  

“The experience, in itself, is phenomenal,” said Howes. “The old way of how every team gets pins, and they kind of do these exchanges.”

One of the members of the Markham-Stouffville U15 team played in the Quebec tournament with another club team in a different city.

Upon learning the U13 Stars had been invited, she brought in her own pin collection to show them.

“She brought her pin collection and was so eager to share her experience and how much it meant to her,” Howes explained. “Showing them the different things and giving them tips.

“You can see the passion when she was talking to the kids, just how cool it was. Seeing the passion about her experience was phenomenal.”

As “cool” as an event it is, Howes knows his team is going there to represent Markham-Stouffville and play hockey. He says the girls have come a long way over the past two years to show they belong on the big stage.

“I think they’re excited,” said Howes. “They haven’t stopped talking about it. Obviously, we have our games, tournaments, and practices in between from now until then, but it’s hard not to look forward to something so big for these young players.”

While Howes says they know what they’re getting into, they kind of don’t at the same time.

We’re talking about 12-year-old kids,” he said. “When they get there, and you see them handing out these pins, you see their experience, and you see them playing the game they love and the opportunity they have in front of them.

“We know more than they do at this point. To know what they’re in for, it’s awesome. I don’t have a word for it. It’s such a unique experience that every one of them in my group deserves.”

The Markham-Stouffville squad has been enjoying quite the season on the ice, losing just one game in league play as of early November.

They had just returned from a 24-team tournament in Rochester, New York, where they finished first in pool play and reached the championship final before losing 2-0 to Wellington.

“The girls played fantastic,” said Howes. “We beat some really good hockey teams in the tournament. I think we only gave up three goals against. Our goaltenders played well. Our defensive hockey was on point. It was a good, solid weekend.”

Howes said his team’s success is built on hard work and the determination to keep the puck out of the net.

“That’s the way we try to play,” he said. “We have a few girls who are more than capable of putting the puck in the net, and we have 16 girls who come together defensively. The work ethic is one thing we preach and they follow, and they put the work in to make sure they’re all on the same page defensively.

“We’re just an eager group. Easy to teach, and they just want to play.”

Howes said the team’s priority in getting ready for the Quebec tournament is making sure it does what it can to be successful, and that’s already started.

“The girls come to practice, and they come ready to work,” he said. “They go to games ready to work.”

Taking part in the prestigious international event also comes with big costs. The team is looking to the community to help raise funds for travel, accommodation, and tournament fees.

Contributions can be made through a GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com/f/quebec-international-peewee-hockey-tournament-2026) that has been set up.

“It shouldn’t come down to that, for us not to go because of finances,” said Howes. “The girls deserve it. We would love teams or local businesses to help out, or even just to spread the word.

“Know how special and unique an experience it is for these young athletes.”

Who knows, maybe some of these girls will go on to play in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) or even suit up for the Canadian Women’s National Hockey Team someday.

“It’s really, really cool to have been able to be allowed to be part of it,” Howes said of the growth in the girls’ game. “Selfishly, I got in there with the girls, and the game itself has developed and grown so much over the last 10 years now, and it’s only growing and getting even better and bigger.”

Before a recent overall growth, there had been a steady decline in the number of players registering to play in Canada. Youth participation, according to Hockey Canada, was down 22 per cent between 2008 and 2021.

Female participation in the sport has been a completely different story. A record-setting 115,000 girls and women registered to play in 2024-25.

The PWHL has given the young girls something to strive for,” said Howes.

 

Photo: Markham-Stouffville U13 girls ready for big ‘stage’ at Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament. (supplied photo)