Two Rockets Included Amongst 23 WHL Players Selected
October 17, 2017 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release
Hockey Canada announced its 66-player roster, including 23 players currently playing for or drafted by one of the Western Hockey League's 22 Member Clubs, to represent Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, November 5-11 in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C. Of those 23 players, two are Kelowna Rockets - Defenceman Kaedan Korczak as well as goaltender Roman Basran.
The 66 players will be divided into three teams representing Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red, and Team Canada White when they compete against the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States in their quest for a gold medal.
Featured among the 23 WHL players named to the roster are the top three selections from the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft - forwards Peyton Krebs (Okotoks, Alta. / Kootenay ICE) and Kirby Dach (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. / Saskatoon Blades), and defenceman Bowen Byram (Cranbrook, B.C. / Vancouver Giants).
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. DOB Hometown WHL Club
Roman Basran G 6-1.25 173 2001-07-26 Abbotsford, B.C. Kelowna Rockets
Taylor Gauthier G 6-0.5 189 2001-02-15 Calgary, Alta. Prince George Cougars
Nolan Maier G 5-11.0 168 2001-01-10 Yorkton, Sask. Saskatoon Blades
Jacson Alexander D 5-9.25 174 2001-02-01 Victoria, B.C. Swift Current Broncos
Bowen Byram D 6-0.0 179 2001-06-13 Cranbrook, B.C. Vancouver Giants
Kaedan Korczak D 6-2.0 182 2001-01-29 Yorkton, Sask. Kelowna Rockets
Jake Lee D 6-1.0 203 2001-07-13 Sherwood Park, Alta. Seattle Thunderbirds
Luke Reid D 5-11.0 181 2001-09-26 Warman, Sask. Victoria Royals
Rhett Rhinehart D 6-2.5 195 2001-11-27 Lloydminster, Alta. Prince Albert Raiders
Matthew Robertson D 6-2.75 194 2001-03-09 Sherwood Park, Alta. Edmonton Oil Kings
Braden Schneider D 6-1.25 198 2001-09-20 Prince Albert, Sask. Brandon Wheat Kings
Jackson van de Leest D 6-6.0 218 2001-06-15 Kelowna, B.C. Calgary Hitmen
Logan Barlage F 6-3.75 204 2001-01-12 Humboldt, Sask. Swift Current Broncos
Harrison Blaisdell F 5-10.25 175 2001-03-18 Regina, Sask. Vancouver Giants
Connor Bouchard F 5-6.0 157 2001-03-24 Cochrane, Alta. Tri-City Americans
Dylan Cozens F 6-2.5 174 2001-02-09 Whitehorse, Yukon Lethbridge Hurricanes
Kirby Dach F 6-3.0 185 2001-01-21 Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. Saskatoon Blades
Peyton Krebs F 5-10.75 173 2001-01-26 Okotoks, Alta. Kootenay ICE
Sasha Mutala F 6-0.5 189 2001-05-06 Vancouver, B.C. Tri-City Americans
Massimo Rizzo F 5-9.75 172 2001-06-13 Burnaby, B.C. Kamloops Blazers
Alex Swetlikoff F 6-2.0 179 2001-07-06 Kelowna, B.C. Seattle Thunderbirds
Brayden Tracey F 5-11.75 163 2001-05-28 Calgary, Alta. Moose Jaw Warriors
Josh Williams F 6-0.75 184 2001-03-08 Langley, B.C. Medicine Hat Tigers
In July, 111 players were invited to the week-long national under-17 development camp, marking the first step in Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence. The players chosen to compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge were selected by Brad McEwen (Whitewood, Sask.), Hockey Canada's head scout, in consultation with U17 POE management group lead Steve Staios (Hamilton, Ont./Hamilton, OHL), along with regional scouts Carl Bouchard (Quebec), Barclay Branch (Ontario), Barclay Parneta (West), Kevin Mitchell (Atlantic), and Darrell Woodley (Ontario).
"There is a strong, talented, and skilled group of players to choose from and we feel the 66 we have selected are a great representation of the depth of Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence," said McEwen. "These young men have demonstrated an ability to learn, grow, and develop while giving Canada the best chance at bringing home gold on Canadian ice."
The tournament opens November 5 at the Encana Events Centre in an all-Canadian affair as last year's silver-medallist, Team Canada Black, takes on Team Canada White at 2:30 p.m. MT (4:30 p.m. ET). The opening day concludes with Sweden facing Russia at North Peace Arena in Fort St. John.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcasters for Hockey Canada, will air one semifinal and the bronze- and gold-medal games; please check local listings for details.
Tickets are now on sale with a number of ticketing options for fans in both venues, including a Team Canada package. Fans can take advantage of the best ticketing option by purchasing the full-tournament package, which includes all 14 games at the Encana Events Centre in Dawson Creek, or all 12 games at the North Peace Arena in Fort St. John.
More than 1,600 NHL draft picks have suited up since the inception of the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 1986 (previously known as the Quebec Esso Cup), including 13 of the last 16 first-overall draft picks (Ilya Kovalchuk, 2001; Rick Nash, 2002; Marc-André Fleury, 2003; Alexander Ovechkin, 2004; Erik Johnson, 2006, Patrick Kane, 2007; John Tavares, 2009; Taylor Hall, 2010, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2011; Nathan MacKinnon, 2013; Aaron Ekblad, 2014; Connor McDavid, 2015 and Auston Matthews, 2016).
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Western Hockey League Stories from October 17, 2017
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