Photo: Marissa Baecker

The Vancouver Canucks have confirmed the Young Stars Classic will not be taking place in Penticton in 2019.

In a brief statement to Castanet, the team said they “are grateful to the city of Penticton and its fans for their support of the annual Young Stars Tournament since its start in 2010.”

“The tournament will not take place in 2019 due to a lack of participating NHL teams, however, options for future Young Stars tournaments in Penticton continue to be explored.”

The announcement Wednesday by the Winnipeg Jets that it would be leaving the tournament to join a rookie showcase with Eastern Canadian teams in Ontario was the death blow.

The 2018 event was held without the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, which departed to hold their own rookie event in Alberta. Last year’s scaled-back event saw the schedule padded out with teams from the Universities of Alberta and B.C.

The Young Stars Classic brought together top prospects from Western Canadian NHL teams for a tournament at the South Okanagan Events Centre.