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WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Schneider Named to U18 National Roster

August 2, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Calgary, Alta. - The Western Hockey League is proud to announce 11 WHL players have been named to Canada's under-18 roster for the upcoming Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scheduled for August 6-11 in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Hockey Canada finalized its roster on Wednesday following a five-day selection camp that saw 44 players take part in on- and off-ice sessions, including three intrasquad games, at WinSport's Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.

Among the players is Brandon Wheat Kings' 17-year old defenceman Braden Schneider.

A former first round bantam draft choice of the Wheat Kings, the former Prince Albert Minto scored a goal and 22 points in 66 games during his rookie season in 2017-18.

Representing the WHL on Canada's squad are:

Goaltenders

Taylor Gauthier (Prince George Cougars / Calgary, Alta.)

Nolan Maier (Saskatoon Blades / Yorkton, Sask.)

Defencemen

Matthew Robertson (Edmonton Oil Kings / Sherwood Park, Alta.)

Bowen Byram (Vancouver Giants / Cranbrook, B.C.)

Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna Rockets / Yorkton, Sask.)

Braden Schneider (Brandon Wheat Kings / Prince Albert, Sask.)

Forwards

Sasha Mutala (Tri-City Americans / Vancouver, B.C.)

Josh Williams (Medicine Hat Tigers / Langley, B.C.)

Kirby Dach (Saskatoon Blades / Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.)

Peyton Krebs (Kootenay ICE / Okotoks, Alta.)

Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes / Whitehorse, Yukon)

"We had an incredibly busy but successful selection camp with 44 players who worked hard and made our decisions very difficult," said Brad McEwen (Whitewood, Sask.), Hockey Canada's head scout for men's teams, of the process to get to the final 22-player roster.

Team Canada consists of two goaltenders, seven defencemen, and 13 forwards, including three players who were part of Canada's National Men's Under-18 Team that competed at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship in Russia last April. Both Byram and Robertson participated in that tournament.

The selections were made by the team management group, which includes Shawn Bullock (Wainwright, Alta.), director of national teams - men's, at Hockey Canada, as well as McEwen, and Alan Millar (Moose Jaw Warriors / Tottenham, Ont.), the under-18 team's Program of Excellence lead. Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team coaching staff, led by head coach André Tourigny (Ottawa 67s / Nicolet, Que.) and assistant coaches Mitch Love (Saskatoon Blades / Quesnel, B.C.) and Ryan Oulahen (Flint Firebirds / Newmarket, Ont.), provided input into the final player selections.

"The players who will wear the Maple Leaf at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup are highly-skilled and fast; this will be some very entertaining hockey for fans in the building and those tuning in," Millar said. "We're looking forward to a great tournament on home ice."

Canada's National Men's Under-18 Team will play the Czech Republic in pre-competition action on Saturday, August 4, at the new Servus Arena in Red Deer before moving on to Edmonton, where they open the Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Switzerland on Monday, August 6 at 7 p.m. MT. All tournament games played in Edmonton's Rogers Place will be broadcast by TSN and RDS; check local listings for details.

Newly rebranded as the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the annual tournament is one of the only true, best-on-best competitions.

Canada won last year's edition of the event in Breclav, Czech Republic, besting the host team 4-1, with a squad that included 18 players who were selected in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in June. When all of the picks were in, 77 alumni of the event were selected by NHL Clubs - 19 first-rounders, in fact - including seven of the top-10 picks.

Canada has won gold 21 times in 27 years of summer under-18 competition.

Fans can purchase a three-game Team Canada ticket package, which includes one lower-bowl ticket to each Team Canada preliminary-round game at Rogers Place, for only $99. Ticket packages and single-game tickets can be purchased online at HlinkaGretzkyCup.com.

For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team, and the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, please visit HlinkaGretzkyCup.com, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter.com/HC_Men.

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