Reinhart Selected for Canada's U-18 Squad
August 2, 2011 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release
Calgary, AB - Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Griffin Reinhart is one of five Western Hockey League players selected by Hockey Canada to compete for the national under-18 team at the upcoming Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced Tuesday the 22 players who will play for Team Canada at the 2011 U-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, scheduled August 8-13 in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. The roster was finalized following Hockey Canada's four-day selection camp at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary. The camp included daily practices and three Red-White intrasquad games.
Canada's roster is made up of 13 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders. Head coach Steve Spott (Waterloo, Ont./Kitchener, OHL), assembled the roster with support from assistant coaches Mario Duhamel (St-Bruno, Que./Drummondville, QMJHL) and Don Nachbaur (Kitimat, B.C./Spokane, WHL), Kevin Prendergast, Hockey Canada's head scout for the men's Program of Excellence, and Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations/national teams. "It was a very competitive camp, and choosing these 22 players was by no means an easy task," Spott said. "All of the players named today have earned their spot on the roster, and we look forward to getting to Europe and continuing Canada's great tradition at this event."
Canada has won the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament three straight years, and has won 15 of 20 summer under-18 tournaments since 1991. Reinhart and company will play in Group A in Breclav with the Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland. Group B, which consists of Finland, Russia, Slovakia and the United States, will play out of Piestany.
Reinhart, 17, was the Oil Kings' first-round selection (third overall) at the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. He completed his first season in the Western Hockey League this year, earning rookie of the year honours with the Oil Kings, as he scored six goals and 19 assists for 25 points to go along with a plus-seven rating in 45 games.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Reinhart, a native of West Vancouver, B.C., already represented Hockey Canada earlier this year, competing for Team Pacific at the World Under-17 Challenge. Team Pacific captured the bronze medal, as Reinhart scored one goal and six assists in six games at the tournament, in addition to serving as the team captain.
By making Canada's national U-18 summer squad, Reinhart will follow in the footsteps of two Oil Kings teammates who have competed at past Ivan Hlinka tournaments. Defenceman Mark Pysyk led Team Canada to gold at the 2009 competition, while dual citizen defenceman Keegan Lowe captured silver with the United States in 2010.
"I thought the camp went really well, and as the days went on I started feeling better and better on the ice," Reinhart said. "It feels awesome to get the chance to play for Canada and wear the maple leaf on my jersey again. It's going to be a big step up from the U-17 tournament and I'm really looking forward to it."
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Western Hockey League Stories from August 2, 2011
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