With one month to go before the puck drops at the 2013 World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth, N.S., the dates and locations have been announced for Canada East and Canada West selection camps. Canada East camp is scheduled for Oct. 27-30 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ont., while Canada West camp will run Oct. 26-30 at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Alta.
Both teams will announce their rosters on Oct. 30. Canada West will be the first Canadian team to travel to Yarmouth, making the trip east on Oct. 31, while Canada East will arrive the following day.
Further details, including rosters and intrasquad games, will be announced closer to the start of camps.
Players named to the selection camp rosters represent each of the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s 10 member leagues; five for Canada East – the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL), Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec (LHJAAAQ) and Maritime Hockey League (MHL) – and five for Canada West – 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).
Every gold medal game at the World Junior A Challenge has featured at least one Canadian team. Canada West won gold at the first two tournaments, in 2006 and 2007, before taking the top prize in 2011; it also earned silver in 2008, 2009 and last year. Canada East was silver medallist in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011, and claimed bronze in 2008.
The 2013 World Junior A Challenge is scheduled for Nov. 4-10. It is the second year in a row Yarmouth will play host, the first time in the eight-year history of the event is it returning to a previous host city.