Sunday, May 17, 2009

Ontario U-17 Camp

Press Release

Toronto – Eighty-four of the top 16-year-old high-performance male hockey players in the province will be convening in Ottawa June 25th – 28th, 2009 for the Under-17 Provincial Selection Camp. The Ottawa District Hockey Association (ODHA) is the host of this year’s camp.

All 20 players drafted in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection including the first and second overall pick Daniel Catenacci (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and Alan Quine (Kingston Frontenacs) will attend. A total of 72 of the 84 players attending camp were selected in the OHL Priority Selection.

The objective of the camp is to provide these players with an intensive training opportunity, both on and off the ice. The provincial camp also enables Team Ontario’s coaching staff to continue the process of identifying the players who will ultimately be selected to represent Ontario at the 2010 World Men’s Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Timmins, Ontario beginning December 29th, 2009.

Director of Operations Robert Kitamura along with Team Ontario’s head coach Jake Grimes (Belleville Bulls) and assistant coaches Troy Smith (Kitchener Rangers) and Drake Berehowsky (Barrie Colts) will concentrate on evaluating the attending players during the 4-day camp in preparation for the World Hockey Challenge event.

The players were selected from various regional camps held throughout the province during April and May. There is representation at the camp from each Branch (OHF, HNO, ODHA) in Ontario. In total, over 1,500 players attended the regional talent identification camps.

The Ontario Under-17 Program is a component of the Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence and is facilitated through the Hockey Development Centre for Ontario on behalf of their 3 Ontario Branches. The program receives support from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion.


Please click here for more information including a full list of the invited players.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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