CALGARY, AB – Former Brooks Bandits defenceman Cale Makar (Calgary, AB) is one of 32 players invited to Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp, it was announced today.
Makar, 19, is one of 10 defencemen vying for a spot on Team Canada for the annual World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo, New York later this month.
The former Bandit currently plays for the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he has recorded 9 points (1 goal, 8 assists) in 15 games in his freshman campaign. This past summer he became the highest-ever drafted player in the history of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, when he was selected fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche.
In his second season with Brooks last year, he swept nearly every award for which he was eligible, including the AJHL Top Defenceman award, AJHL Most Valuable Player, AJHL All-League Team, AJHL Playoff MVP, Western Canada Cup All-Tournament Team and Top Defenceman, and RBC Cup Top Defenceman and Most Valuable Player, the first player to ever be named RBC Cup MVP in back-to-back years.
Makar also became the first Bandit to ever win the CJHL Most Valuable Player Award, and the second Bandit ever to win the prestigious RBC National Junior A Player of the Year Award.
He has also sported the maple leaf jersey in past, having been twice selected by Hockey Canada to compete for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge, where he was named to the Tournament All-Star Team both years, winning a gold medal in 2015 and setting a tournament single-game record for points by a defenceman in 2016.
Hockey Canada’s selection camp begins next Tuesday in St. Catharines, Ontario, and runs until next Friday, after which the final 22-man roster will be announced.