Hockey Canada - Canadian Hockey League announces the roster for 2011 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament
Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced the 22-player roster for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 team at the 2011 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament, set to start on August 8th and go on till the 13th, in Breclav,
Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia.
12 players were selected from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) alone, which gives the Canadian league well rounded representations.
The remaining players were selected from the Western Hockey League (WHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) along with Central Canadian Hockey League (CCHL) and Quebec’s midget AAA system.
A selection camp for four-days was held at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary by the partners to finalise the roster.
13 forwards, seven defenseman and two goalies were selected to makeup the line-up of players who were deemed successful in various daily practises and games.
Steve Spott, the selected head coach of the Canadian team, who is also Kitchener Rangers coach in the OHL, was also part of the selection process and regarded the process as extremely tough.
"It was a very competitive camp, and choosing these 22 players was by no means an easy task", said Steve Spott. "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".
The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament is annually held during the month of August, in which teams from around the world participate for greatness and wide recognition.
Canada has remained on top of other leagues who participate in this event. Having won the past 15 of 20 total events since its inauguration in 1991, makes them the strongest aspirant in the upcoming days.
Team Canada is situated in Group A of the tournament, which also consists of Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland.
The second and final group, Group B, has Finland, Russia, Slovakia and the United States as its competitors.
Teams will play against each other in their respective groups in single-game series and the team with the most wins will reach the gold medal game, scheduled for August 14th.
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