Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Junior Hockey League, announced Wednesday the 34 players that will attend the Canada West selection camp in preparation for the 2011 World Junior A Challenge.
The selection camp, scheduled for Oct. 29-Nov. 1, will be held at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., the same venue that will host the 2011 World Junior A Challenge from Nov. 7-13. The 34 players will be divided into two teams – Red and White – and will play a pair of intersquad games, in addition to daily practices.
Players named to the Canada East selection camp roster were selected from the CJHL’s five western Junior A leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).
The selection camp roster was chosen by Canada West head coach Kent Lewis (Powell River, B.C./Powell River, BCHL), along with assistant coaches Dean Brockman (St. Benedict, Sask./Humboldt, SJHL) and Andrew Milne (St. Albert, Alta./Canmore, AJHL).
“This was by no means an easy decision to get down to 34 players,” said Lewis. “We had a tremendous talent pool to choose from, and we’re excited to give fans in Langley an early look at the players who will be representing Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge.”
Canada West’s selection camp roster includes:
- four goaltenders, 12 defencemen and 18 forwards;
- 18 players from the BCHL, 10 players from the AJHL, four players from the MJHL and two players from the SJHL;
- four players returning from the 2010 World Junior A Challenge (Holland, Jardine, Juha [played for Canada East], St. Denis);
- five players who participated in the 2011 RBC Cup, Canada’s National Junior A Championship (Camrose – Jardine; Portage – Pattyn, Wold; Vernon – Corkey, Hadley);
- one player who participated in the 2011 TELUS Cup, Canada’s National Midget Championship (Vancouver North West – Kerfoot);
- one player selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (Jardine – Chicago, 6th round, 169th overall).
Canada West will play in Group A, joined by Sweden and the United States, while Canada East, the Czech Republic and Russia will comprise Group B. Preliminary round play will run until Wednesday, Nov. 9, with both semifinals taking place Friday, Nov. 11. The gold medal game, which will be shown nationally on TSN/RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, is set for Sunday, Nov. 13 (check your local listings). All preliminary round games, quarter-finals, semifinals and the bronze medal game can be seen live via webcast through FASTHockey at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.
Full-tournament 15-game ticket packages are on sale, including tickets to all 13 games at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge, both CJHL Prospects Games and a free souvenir tournament program, for only $150, as well as single-game tickets and a flex package.
Canada West has appeared in four of the five gold medal games at the World Junior A Challenges, winning gold in 2006 in Yorkton, Sask., and 2007 in Trail, B.C., before settling for silver in 2008 in Camrose, Alta., and 2009 in Summerside, P.E.I. It finished fourth last year in Penticton, B.C.