FORTY-SIX PLAYERS INVITED TO CANADA'S NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM SPORT CHEK SUMMER DEVELOPMENT CAMP
Development Camp Roster
CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced roster details on Friday for Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp, scheduled for August 3-7 in Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alta. Forty-six players have been invited to attend the camp.
Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp is the first step in identifying players for Canada's National Junior Team for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held from December 26, 2011 to January 5, 2012 in Calgary and Edmonton. At the conclusion of camp, Kevin Prendergast, Hockey Canada's head scout for the men's Program of Excellence, will continue to monitor these players and other potential candidates before inviting a group of players to a final selection camp in December, after which a final National Junior Team roster of 22 players will be named.
The camp roster includes four goaltenders, 16 defencemen and 26 forwards.
The 46 players, born in 1992 or 1993, were selected by Prendergast, in consultation with Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations and national teams, Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada's senior director of hockey operations and national teams Scott Salmond, head coach Don Hay (Vancouver, WHL) and assistant coaches George Burnett (Belleville, OHL), Ryan Huska (Kelowna, WHL) and Pascal Vincent (Montreal, QMJHL). Prendergast evaluated players over the course of the 2010-11 season, following these players along with numerous other candidates for the program during league play, as well as during international competitions for both the under-18 and under-20 programs.
"Canada has many very talented players across the country in this age group, and the players should be very proud to have an opportunity to showcase their abilities at this camp in Edmonton," said Prendergast. "We are looking forward to a competitive, high-energy camp."
The invitation list includes seven players from Canada's silver medal-winning team at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y.: goaltender Mark Visentin (Waterdown, Ont./Niagara, OHL), defenceman Erik Gudbranson (Orleans, Ont./Kingston, OHL) and forwards Brett Connolly (Prince George, B.C./Prince George, WHL), Sean Couturier (Bathurst, N.B./Drummondville, QMJHL), Quinton Howden (Oakbank, Man./Moose Jaw, WHL), Ryan Johansen (Port Moody, B.C./Portland, WHL) and Jaden Schwartz (Wilcox, Sask./Colorado College, WCHA)
The camp roster also includes 30 skaters with international experience at the under-18 level (Bournival, Ceci, Connelly, Couturier, Danault, Domingue, Gormley, Gudbranson, D. Hamilton, F. Hamilton, Harrington, Howden, Huberdeau, Jenner, Lessio, McKegg, Murphy, Murray, Nugent-Hopkins, Percy, Puempel, Pysyk, Ritchie, Scheifele, Schwartz, Sgarbossa, Siemens, Spooner, Thomas, Toffoli) and 36 skaters who have represented their region or province at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and/or Canada Winter Games.
Five players invited to this camp have not played with Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence at either the under-17, under-18 or under-20 levels: Patrick Holland, Joe Morrow, Matt Petgrave, Dillon Simpson and Scott Wedgewood.
All invited players must attend the camp to be eligible for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, as per National Junior Team policy
Labels: Canada, Evaluation Camp, Hockey Canada, OHL, QMJHL, WCHA, WHL, WJC