WHL Spokane Chiefs

Memorial Day Sale, Prospects Selected, & Stewart Finds Home in UK

Published on May 27, 2016 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


SPOKANE, Wash. - Seven 2001-born Spokane Chiefs prospects, all selected in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft in early May, have been invited to attend official U16 provincial summer camps this summer.

Team Alberta's camp, hosted in Camrose, Alta. on July 5-10, will include four Chiefs prospects, including second-round bantam draft pick Eric Van Impe, a defenseman from Calgary. Joining Van Impe will be forwards Carter Chorney (Sherwood Park) and Kurtis Labant (St. Paul), as well as goaltender Ross Hawryluk (Lloydminster).

Forwards Adam Beckman (Saskatoon) and Cordel Larson (Weyburn) will represent Spokane prospects at Team Saskatchewan's camp in Wilcox, Sask. on August 1-5.

Eighth-round pick Ethan Leyh, a forward from Port Moody, B.C., will be the lone Chiefs prospect at Team British Columbia's summer camp from July 13 to 17 in Shawnigan Lake, B.C.

Players invited to summer camps will compete as part of the selection process to represent their province at October's 2016 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup in Calgary. They will be eligible to join the Chiefs full-time at the start of the 2017-18 regular season.

LIAM STEWART SIGNS WITH COVENTRY BLAZE

FORMER CHIEF TO CONTINUE HOCKEY CAREER IN UNITED KINGDOM

Former Chief Liam Stewart signed with the Coventry Blaze of the Elite Ice Hockey League (UK), it was announced on May 18. The 21-year-old played 251 games - 33rd in franchise history - for the Chiefs from 2011-2015, scoring 57 goals and 132 points.

Coventry is located in central England and the Blaze are one of 10 member clubs of the EIHL. They are four-time regular season champions, most recently in the 2009-10 season, and have twice won the British Championship, including last season's 4-2 win over the regular season champion Sheffield Steelers.

"One of the biggest things when I decided to sign in the Elite League was being able to come home and play good competitive hockey and also be close to family," he said in a Blaze press release. Stewart, the son of British rock star Rod Stewart and New Zealander model/actress Rachel Hunter, was actually born in the UK but will count as an import player due to his development in North America.

He also noted familiarity with some current Blaze players due to his experience at the IIHF U-20 World Championship Division I Group B tournament, during which he served as an assistant captain for Team Great Britain.

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Western Hockey League Stories from May 27, 2016


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