EvanL
04-01-2004, 06:33 PM
Canadian under-18 hockey team filled with top NHL draft prospects
Thu Apr 1, 2:36 PM ET
DONNA SPENCER
(CP) - The Canadian under-18 men's hockey team that will try to defend the gold medal at the world championship is also filled with names that are expected to be called early in this year's NHL draft.
Prince Albert Raiders forward Kyle Chipchura, the top-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, headlines the roster of 22 players announced Thursday by Hockey Canada.
Canada opens the world under-18 championship against Sweden, April 8 in Minsk, Belarus. The team of players born in 1986 will be coached by Dean Chynoweth, who was an assistant coach of the men's under-20 team that won a silver medal at the world championship in January.
Like the men's team that is selected for the world championship, the under-18 team is mostly comprised of players whose clubs did not reach the post-season or lost in the first round of playoffs.
Hockey Canada director of scouting Blair Mackasey compiled the roster.
"Canada has a pretty deep talent pool," Mackasey said Thursday from Montreal. "There were a lot of good players who weren't available to us, but there were also a lot of good players who were.
"I think we'll be competitive."
The Western Hockey League dominated selections with 12. There were seven chosen from the Ontario Hockey League and one from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The squad also includes college defencemen Wes O'Neill from Notre Dame and Jonathan Sigalet out of Bowling Green.
There are several players on the roster ranked among Central Scouting's top 20 skating prospects for the NHL draft in June, including towering Calgary Hitmen defencemen Andy Rogers and Jeff Schulz, and forwards Dane Byers from Prince Albert, Ryan Garlock of the Windsor Spitfires and Evan McGrath of the Kitchener Rangers.
Hockey Canada has sent an under-18 to an annual international summer tournament in Europe since 1997, but has entered a team in the world championship only the last two years.
Canada won gold last year in Yaroslavl, Russia, with players born in 1985.
"There's always pressure with that even though this is a different group of players," Chynoweth said. "Expectations are high in Canada and they have been for a number of years."
This year's under-18 squad includes a dozen players from the team that finished fourth at a Junior World Cup in the Czech Republic last summer and Chynoweth is glad to have them.
"It's important for kids to be able to go into a tournament with that experience to draw on," he said. "For some of them, this will be their first international experience."
The Canadian team will be hefty in goal with six-foot-five Devan Dubnyk of the Kamloops Blazers and six-foot-three Justin Pogge of the Prince George Cougars. Dubnyk is ranked third among North American goaltenders by Central Scouting.
The size extends to the blue-line, led by Rogers and Schultz.
"I think we'll be a team built from the goaltenders on out," Mackasey said. "We won't be a high-scoring team, but I think we'll be balanced."
Some of the players on this under-18 could also play for the Canadian under-20 team later this year. The team that won silver in Finland in January included eight players from the gold-medal under-18 team.
"This is an important tournament for us in terms of evaluating players for the junior team," Mackasey said.
The team will practice in Montreal on Friday before flying to Minsk on Saturday. An exhibition game is planned for Tuesday against the junior team from Belarus.
Mackasey said Lewiston Maineiacs forward Alex Bourret was a candidate to make the team had he not injured his shoulder during the QMJHL playoffs.
Thu Apr 1, 2:36 PM ET
DONNA SPENCER
(CP) - The Canadian under-18 men's hockey team that will try to defend the gold medal at the world championship is also filled with names that are expected to be called early in this year's NHL draft.
Prince Albert Raiders forward Kyle Chipchura, the top-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, headlines the roster of 22 players announced Thursday by Hockey Canada.
Canada opens the world under-18 championship against Sweden, April 8 in Minsk, Belarus. The team of players born in 1986 will be coached by Dean Chynoweth, who was an assistant coach of the men's under-20 team that won a silver medal at the world championship in January.
Like the men's team that is selected for the world championship, the under-18 team is mostly comprised of players whose clubs did not reach the post-season or lost in the first round of playoffs.
Hockey Canada director of scouting Blair Mackasey compiled the roster.
"Canada has a pretty deep talent pool," Mackasey said Thursday from Montreal. "There were a lot of good players who weren't available to us, but there were also a lot of good players who were.
"I think we'll be competitive."
The Western Hockey League dominated selections with 12. There were seven chosen from the Ontario Hockey League and one from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The squad also includes college defencemen Wes O'Neill from Notre Dame and Jonathan Sigalet out of Bowling Green.
There are several players on the roster ranked among Central Scouting's top 20 skating prospects for the NHL draft in June, including towering Calgary Hitmen defencemen Andy Rogers and Jeff Schulz, and forwards Dane Byers from Prince Albert, Ryan Garlock of the Windsor Spitfires and Evan McGrath of the Kitchener Rangers.
Hockey Canada has sent an under-18 to an annual international summer tournament in Europe since 1997, but has entered a team in the world championship only the last two years.
Canada won gold last year in Yaroslavl, Russia, with players born in 1985.
"There's always pressure with that even though this is a different group of players," Chynoweth said. "Expectations are high in Canada and they have been for a number of years."
This year's under-18 squad includes a dozen players from the team that finished fourth at a Junior World Cup in the Czech Republic last summer and Chynoweth is glad to have them.
"It's important for kids to be able to go into a tournament with that experience to draw on," he said. "For some of them, this will be their first international experience."
The Canadian team will be hefty in goal with six-foot-five Devan Dubnyk of the Kamloops Blazers and six-foot-three Justin Pogge of the Prince George Cougars. Dubnyk is ranked third among North American goaltenders by Central Scouting.
The size extends to the blue-line, led by Rogers and Schultz.
"I think we'll be a team built from the goaltenders on out," Mackasey said. "We won't be a high-scoring team, but I think we'll be balanced."
Some of the players on this under-18 could also play for the Canadian under-20 team later this year. The team that won silver in Finland in January included eight players from the gold-medal under-18 team.
"This is an important tournament for us in terms of evaluating players for the junior team," Mackasey said.
The team will practice in Montreal on Friday before flying to Minsk on Saturday. An exhibition game is planned for Tuesday against the junior team from Belarus.
Mackasey said Lewiston Maineiacs forward Alex Bourret was a candidate to make the team had he not injured his shoulder during the QMJHL playoffs.