The line-up of Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Summer Camps starts Thursday with the three different age groups sporting participants from Saskatoon, Prince Albert, CJWW listening area communities as well as from the Blades and Raiders.

First up is the Canadian National Under-17 development camp, beginning Thursday in Oakville, Ontario. Saskatoon product and Red Deer prospect forward Beckett Hamilton, Blades’ goaltending gem Ryley Budd and a trio of potential 16-year-old performers with the Raiders this season – defenceman Daxon Rudolph along with forwards Riley Boychuk and Ty Meunier – are among 80 participants.

Victoria forward and Macklin product Cole Reschny is one of 41 hopefuls vying for a spot on Canada’s entry to the annual Hlinka-Gretzky Cup being held in Edmonton this year from August 5-10. The Under-18 selection camp runs July 27-30 in Calgary.

At the same time, July 28-August 3 in Windsor, Ontario, 42 top-flite Under-19 players will take part in the National Junior Team’s Summer Showcase. Among those are Blades’ blueliner Tanner Molendyk, Prince Albert product and Regina forward Tanner Howe plus Saskatoonians Noah Chadwick of Lethbridge and Caden Price of Kelowna on defence plus forwards Brayden Yager of Moose Jaw, Berkly Catton of Spokane and Riley Heidt of Prince George. Following are news releases from the W-H-L, C-H-L and Hockey Canada…..

Sixteen WHL players to participate in Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Showcase

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2024

Calgary, Alta. – Sixteen Western Hockey League players have been invited to participate in Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Showcase, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

The event serves as a tryout for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held in Ottawa, Ont. from December 26, 2024- January 5, 2025.

WHL Players – National Men’s Program of Excellence Summer Showcase

The Western Hockey League contingent includes six first-round selections from the 2023 and 2024 NHL Entry Draft, including recent top-10 selections Cayden Lindstrom (CBJ, 1/4), Tij Iginla (UHC, 1/6), Carter Yakemchuk (OTT, 1/7) and Berkly Catton (SEA, 1/8).

2024 WHL Champion Brayden Yager and goaltender Scott Ratzlaff are the lone returnees from the Team Canada squad that bowed out in the quarterfinals at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Swe.

Saskatoon Blades standout Tanner Molendyk made Team Canada ahead of the event but was sidelined by a wrist injury sustained in a pre-tournament game against Switzerland.

The Kelowna Rockets lead the way with three invitees, while the Seattle Thunderbirds and Prince George Cougars will both send a pair of stars to the showcase.

Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Showcase begins with training camp on July 28 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ont., before moving south of the border to Plymouth, Mich. for games running from August 1-3.

Five current WHL staff and alumni will help steer the National Junior Team this season.

Lethbridge Hurricanes General Manager Peter Anholt and ‘Canes legend Brent Seabrook make up Team Canada’s management staff and helped select the roster of players attending the showcase.

Portland Winterhawks Senior Vice-President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston joins the squad as an assistant coach after leading Portland to a third straight 40-plus win season and a WHL Championship appearance.

Another Winterhawk, Clayton Johns, has been named Team Canada’s equipment manager after a gold-medal run with Canada’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup team in 2023.

Former Calgary Hitmen great Justin Pogge will reprise his role as goaltending consultant.

The Penticton, B.C. netminder has previously worked as a goaltending coach and consultant for the 2023 IIHF World U18 Championship, the 2023 World Championship, the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2024 World Junior Championship.

Thirteen WHL players to challenge for roster spots at Canada’s U18 Team Selection Camp

Calgary, Alta. – Thirteen Western Hockey League players have been invited to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Selection Camp, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

The athletes will battle for a chance to represent the Maple Leaf at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton, Alta. from August 5-10.

2024 WHL Rookie of the Year Gavin McKenna headlines the selection camp roster after a sensational season that saw him bury 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points in 67 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2023-24.

The 16-year-old forward also set a Canadian record for goals and points at a single IIHF U18 World Championship with 10 goals and 10 assists in seven games en route to a gold medal.

Calgary Hitmen blueliner Reese Hamilton, a top prospect ahead of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, was also a part of the gold medal-winning squad in May.

The Hitmen and Tigers lead the pack with two players each heading to camp, while a total of 11 Western League squads will be represented.

Selection camp is set for July 27-30 at the WinSport Event Centre in Calgary, Alta.

The event will feature intra-squad games on July 29 and 30.

Kelowna Rockets bench boss Kris Mallette will make his debut as Head Coach for Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup after winning gold twice as an assistant coach, with Kamloops Blazers goaltending coach Dan De Palma and Red Deer Rebels Athletic Therapist Terence Robertson also providing some WHL representation on the coaching staff.

Former Spokane Chiefs scout Byron Bonora will reprise his role as Head Scout for Team Canada.

Twenty-three WHL players and prospects invited to Canada’s National Under-17 Development Camp

Calgary, Alta. – Twenty-three Western Hockey League players and prospects have been invited to Canada’s National Under-17 Development Camp, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

The athletes will hit the ice at Joshua’s Creek Arenas in Oakville, Ont. from July 18-24.

All 80 participants have been drafted by Canadian Hockey League clubs, while a select few have already made their CHL debut.

While this marks one of their first opportunities to impress Team Canada brass in person, players will continue to be evaluated at the beginning of the 2024-25 regular season before rosters are finalized for the 2024 U17 World Challenge.

The event runs from November 1-9 in Sarnia, Ont.

Landon DuPont, the first defenceman to receive exceptional status to play in the WHL full-time as a 15-year-old, is among the top names to watch at camp.

Goaltender Carter Esler (Spokane Chiefs), defencemen Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants), Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders) and Keaton Verhoeff (Victoria Royals), forward Mathis Preston (Spokane Chiefs) and twins Liam and Markus Ruck (Medicine Hat Tigers) have previously represented Canada at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Former Spokane Chiefs scout Byron Bonora led the player selection process, while nine other current and former WHL staff will lead Canada’s U17 squads this season.

Vancouver Giants General Manager Barclay Parneta, former Kelowna Rockets assistant coach Travis Crickard, Lethbridge Hurricanes Associate Head Coach and Assistant General Manager Matt Anholt, Prince Albert Raiders assistant coach Ryan McDonald and Saskatoon Blades goaltending coach Jeff Harvey have joined Canada’s front office and coaching staff.

Giants equipment manager Cord Ivanco, Brandon Wheat Kings athletic therapist Zach Hartwick, Prince George Cougars athletic therapist Mitchell Karapita and Victoria Royals team physician Dr. Micheal Conrad will serve as support staff for camp and the main event.

July 16, 2024

NR.047.24

163 PLAYERS INVITED TO CANADA’s PROGRAM OF EXCELLENCE SUMMER CAMPS
Junior, under-18 and under-17 prospects on the ice across Canada in July

CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada has invited 163 players to participate in its Program of Excellence summer camps – Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Showcase, Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp and Canada’s national under-17 development camp.

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to host summer camps across our Program of Excellence this year and gain valuable insights into the development of our up-and-coming athletes,” said senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations Scott Salmond (Creston, BC). “The athletes will gain experience in the operations of our program ahead of the 2024 U17 World Challenge, the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the highly anticipated 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.”

Forty-two players – four goaltenders, 13 defencemen and 25 forwards – have been invited to Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Showcase, July 28 to Aug. 3 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, and south of the border in Plymouth, Michigan.

The camp roster features 38 players who have been selected in the NHL Draft, including 17 first-round picks: Colby Barlow (WPG), Cole Beaudoin (UHC), Oliver Bonk (PHI), Berkly Catton (SEA), Easton Cowan (TOR), Sam Dickinson (SJS), Tij Iginla (UHC), Cayden Lindstrom (CBJ), Jett Luchanko (PHI), Tanner Molendyk (NSH), Bradly Nadeau (CAR), Zayne Parekh (CGY), Calum Ritchie (COL), Beckett Sennecke (ANA), Matthew Wood (NSH), Brayden Yager (PIT) and Carter Yakemchuk (OTT).

The player selection process was led by Salmond and the management group, which includes Peter Anholt (Naicam, SK/Lethbridge, WHL) and Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen, BC) with assistance from senior manager of hockey operations Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON). Head coach Dave Cameron (Kinkora, PE/Ottawa, OHL) and assistant coaches Sylvain Favreau (Orleans, ON/Drummondville, QMJHL), Mike Johnston (Dartmouth, NS/Portland, WHL) and Chris Lazary (Toronto, ON/Saginaw, OHL) were also involved in the process.

As part of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp, 41 players – four goaltenders, 12 defencemen and 25 forwards – have been invited to compete to represent Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scheduled for Aug. 5-10 in Edmonton, Alberta. The selection camp, set for July 27-30 at the WinSport Event Centre in Calgary, will include a pair of Red-Black games on July 29-30. The roster includes five players who won gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship (Desnoyers, Hamilton, Ivankovic, McKenna, Schaefer).

Head scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, AB) led the player selection process with assistance from Salmond. U18 Program of Excellence management group lead Dave Brown (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON/Erie, OHL), head coach Kris Mallette (Kelowna, BC/Kelowna, WHL) and assistant coaches Gordie Dwyer (Dalhousie, NB/Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL) and Ryan Oulahen (Newmarket, ON/North Bay, OHL) also provided input.

Eighty players – eight goaltenders, 24 defencemen and 48 forwards – will take the ice at Joshua’s Creek Arenas in Oakville, Ontario as part of Canada’s national under-17 development camp, set to take place July 18-24. All 80 players have been drafted by Canadian Hockey League teams (39 from the OHL, 23 from the WHL and 18 from the QMJHL), while 17 represented Canada at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (Beites, Chartrand, Croskery, Di Iorio, Edwards, Ellsworth, Esler, Lawrence, Lin, O’Donnell, Preston, Liam Ruck, Markus Ruck, Rudolph, Valentini, Verhoeff, Wassilyn).

The player selection process was led by Bonora, with assistance from regional scouts Pierre Cholette (Quebec), Rob Simpson (Ontario), Darren Sutherland (Atlantic) and Darrell Woodley (Ontario), as well as Member representatives. Players will continue to be evaluated through the beginning of the 2024-25 season in preparation for the 2024 U17 World Challenge, scheduled for Nov. 1-9 in Sarnia, Ontario.