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22 WHL Players Named to Team Pacific

November 14, 2013 - Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release


Red Deer, AB - Hockey Alberta and BC Hockey announced Thursday, November 14, 2013 the 22-player roster that will represent Team Pacific at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, December 29, 2013 to January 4, 2014 in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Team Pacific is comprised of 14 players from BC and nine players from Alberta. Hockey Alberta and BC Hockey each identified 23 U17 male athletes (3 Goalies, 7 Defensemen, 13 Forwards) to take part in the Team Pacific Summer Camp that took part in Calgary, Alberta on July 24th-28th. Following the Summer Camp, these players were evaluated during the first part of their club's team season by a Team Pacific evaluation group.

All 22 players on the roster currently play in the Western Hockey League.

"The selection process for this team was very in-depth and the coaching staff feels very positive about the roster that's been assembled," said Team Pacific Head Coach, Steve Hamilton. "We think this is a very deep team with a good combination of skill, size and character - all the elements needed to play a versatile game."

The 2014 World U17 Hockey Challenge brings together the top players in the world born 1997 or later. The tournament is made up of 10 teams; five (5) from Canada - Quebec, Ontario, Pacific (Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon), Atlantic (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) and West (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut) and five (5) international teams.

Team Pacific will be competing in Group A at the World U17 Hockey Challenge with Team West, Team Quebec, Sweden and Czech Republic. Group B will comprise of Germany, USA, Team Ontario, Team Atlantic and Russia. Team Pacific will play an exhibition game against Russia on December 28, 2013 before they play their first preliminary round contest against Team Quebec on December 29, 2013.

"In such a short-term competition, we'll want to play a high-paced game, requiring contributions from every player. I feel confident in the depth and talent of Team Pacific," added Hamilton.

The gold medal game will be held January 4, 2014 at 7:00pm ET/3:00pm PST and will be shown on TSN/RDS, Hockey Canada's official broadcasters. All other games at the tournament, including preliminary round contests, placement games, semifinals and the bronze medal game, will be available through FAST Hockey at www.hockeycanada.fasthockey.com .

At the 2013 World U17 Hockey Challenge in Victoriaville and Drummondville, Quebec, Team Pacific finished in fifth place after defeating Team Ontario 7-6.

Team Pacific has included some of the top hockey players that Canada has ever produced. Some notable graduates who have competed on Team Pacific include:

- Matt Dumba, Morgan Reilly, 2011

- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2010

- Evander Kane, 2008

- Brent Seabrook, Dion Phaneuf, Mike Green, 2002

- Jarome Iginla, 1994

- Joe Sakic, 1986

The Under 17 program is the first stop in Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World U17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men's U18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men's Team.

For more information on the 2014 World U17 Hockey Challenge, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/wu17, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/worldu17 or www.twitter.com/hc_wu17 .

For more information about Hockey Alberta, please visit the Hockey Alberta website at www.hockeyalberta.ca

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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