CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Junior Hockey League, announced Tuesday the 60 players that will attend the Canada West selection camp in preparation for the 2012 World Junior A Challenge.
Among the 60 players chosen to take part in the four-day selection camp, which goes Oct. 28-31 in Calgary are three from the Superior International Junior League in defenceman Jon Carlson of the Fort Frances Lakers along with Lakers forward Colton Spicer and Dylan Mascarin, a forward with the Thunder Bay North Stars.
The 17-year-old Spicer currently leads his club in offensive production as the Fort Frances product has 16 points in 11 games including eight goals. He is also tied for fifth in SIJHL scoring.
Carlson, 18, another hometown player on the Lakers roster, is riding a five-game point streak and has nine points in 11 outings overall.
Mascarin is averaging over a point-per-game for the North Stars so far this season. The 17-year-old has 11 points in nine games on three goals and eight assists.
The selection camp will be held at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary. The 60 players will be divided into three teams – Red, White and Blue – and will play three intrasquad games, in addition to daily practices.
Players named to the Canada West selection camp roster were selected from the CJHL’s five western Junior A leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the SIJHL.
The selection camp roster was selected by Canada West head coach Dean Brockman (St. Benedict, Sask./Humboldt, SJHL), along with assistant coaches Jason McKee (Irma, Alta./Spruce Grove, AJHL) and Ryan Smith (Headingley, Man./Selkirk, MJHL).
“With the talent on the ice in Canada’s five western Junior A leagues this season, it was no easy feat to get down to 60 players,” said Brockman. “We’re excited to get on the ice in Calgary to choose the 22 players who will wear the red and white and represent the west in Yarmouth.”
“These players represent some of the best prospects in the entire game, not just Junior A,” said CJHL president Kirk Lamb. “Canada West has enjoyed tremendous success at the World Junior A Challenge and we are very confident these selections will allow Canada West to be very competitive in Yarmouth.”
The Canada West selection camp roster includes:
Six goaltenders, 18 defencemen and 36 forwards;
• 25 players from the BCHL, 19 players from the AJHL, seven players from the SJHL, five players from the MJHL and three players from the SIJHL;
• seven players returning from the 2011 World Junior A Challenge (Hadley, Hoekstra, Kerfoot, Morley, Richardson, Stecher, Stenerson);
• three players selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Kerfoot – New Jersey, 5th round, 150th overall; de Haas – Detroit, 6th round, 170th overall; Tomkins – Chicago, 7th round, 199th overall).
The 2012 World Junior A Challenge will be held Nov. 5-11 at the Mariners Centre in Yarmouth, N.S. Canada West will play in Group A, joined by the Czech Republic and Russia, while Canada East, Switzerland and the United States will comprise Group B.
Preliminary round play will run until Wednesday, Nov. 7, with both semifinals taking place Friday, Nov. 9. The gold medal game, which will be shown nationally on TSN/RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, is set for Sunday, Nov. 11 (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.
Fans can now purchase the World Junior A Weekend ticket package, which features six games over the final three days of the 2012 World Junior A Challenge. The package includes both semifinals on Nov. 9, the fifth-place game and bronze medal game on Nov. 10 and the second CJHL Prospects Game and gold medal game on Nov. 11, all at the Mariners Centre. Packages are available for $159, plus service fees.
Canada West has appeared in five of the six gold medal games at the World Junior A Challenges, winning gold in 2006 in Yorkton, Sask., 2007 in Trail, B.C., and last year in Langley, B.C. It settled for silver in 2008 in Camrose, Alta., and 2009 in Summerside, P.E.I., and finished fourth in 2010 in Penticton, B.C.
For more information on the 2012 IIHF World Junior A Challenge, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/wjac, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/wjrac or www.twitter.com/hc_wjac.