Wednesday, October 17, 2012
BC Hockey announced Wednesday, October 17, 2012 the Team BC’s roster for the 2012 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup. The U16 Challenge Cup will be held November 1-4, 2012 at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary, Alberta.
“Today is a very exciting day for the entire 2012 U16 Team BC staff. After many months of scouting some incredible players throughout BC, we are very happy to announce the 20 players that will represent BC in Calgary at the Western Branch Challenge, said director of operations Mitch Pinsky. “We feel that our group of players have a good combination of skill along with a very high level of compete. We now look forward to the team gathering in Richmond later this month for our pre-stage camp where coaching staff will prepare the team for the tournament with some practice, team building and an exhibition game against the Major Midget Greater Vancouver Canadians.”
“It is with great excitement that we announce the players that will compete for BC. I would like to congratulate each and every player on the shortlist whether they were selected or not,” commented head coach Ryan Weber. “Each player competed extremely well and made every decision a difficult one. This team will feature a very skilled forward group, with a very talented and composed group of defensemen, along with solid goaltending. The staff as a whole is eager to get the pre-stage started so we can begin the process of bringing these individuals together as a team.”
The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup will feature the highest rated player in the Under 16 age category representing the four (4) Western provinces of Alberta, BC Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The four (4) team round robin format is the first step in the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence and assists the four (4) Western Provincial Hockey Associations in evaluating these top prospects in this age group for the future high performance programs. The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup is made possible through financial support provided by the WHL. The majority of players participating in the event were selected in the WHL Bantam Draft in June 2012 and many of these top year prospects will play major roles on WHL clubs in the seasons ahead.
The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup will feature two (2) games each day with the opening games scheduled for Thursday, November 1, 2012. The Gold and Bronze Medal match ups will be featured on Sunday, November 4, 2012.
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