Saturday, June 12, 2010

THIRTY-EIGHT SKATERS INVITED TO CANADA’S NATIONAL MEN’S SUMMER UNDER-18 TEAM SELECTION CAMP

Press Release

Selection Camp Roster
(Stephen Woodworth is a member of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles)

CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced Friday the 38 players who have been invited to attend Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp, which runs from July 31-August 3 at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary, home of Canada’s national teams.

The roster includes 14 defencemen and 24 forwards. Four goaltenders will be added to the camp roster following the June 17-20 Program of Excellence goaltending camp in Calgary. Five U18-eligible goaltenders will be in attendance for that camp.

The players, born in 1993, were selected by Hockey Canada head scout Al Murray, in consultation with head coach George Burnett (Port Perry, Ont./Belleville Bulls, OHL) and assistant coaches Ron Choules (Montreal, Que./Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL) and Jim Hiller (Nelson, B.C./Tri-City Americans, WHL). Murray evaluated these players over the course of the 2009-10 season, following them along with numerous other candidates for the program during league play, as well as during the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held from December 29-January 4 in Timmins, Ont.

“The upcoming National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp will be competitive and exciting,” Murray said. “These players represent the future of Canadian hockey and are a testament to the strength of the Canadian Hockey League and the skill development taking place in minor hockey across the country.”

The camp roster includes 12 skaters from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, 15 from the Ontario Hockey League, 10 from the Western Hockey League and one from the Central Canadian Hockey League (Junior A). In total, 36 of those 38 skaters (14 defencemen and 22 forwards) competed at the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Of the 43 players who have been identified for the selection camp, 22 skaters and two goaltenders will be selected for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team that will play in the 2010 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, scheduled for August 10-14 in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

(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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