Vees players on Team Canada West roster

Penticton Vees defencemen Jonny Tychonick and Ryan O’Connell have been named to the Team Canada West roster for the World Junior A Challenge Dec. 10-16 in Truro, N.S.

Vees 16-year-old defenceman Luke Reid was also at the selection camp in Calgary, but will return to the team this week. The three players have been in Calgary since Saturday trying out for the roster along with 57 other skaters from the Western Canadian provinces.

This year’s event features two teams from Canada (East and West), along with United States, Russia, Czech Republic and Switzerland.

Tychonick, from Calgary, has skated in 25 games with the Vees this season with five goals and 23 points. He was on Canada West at last year’s WJAC in Bonnyville, Alta., scoring a goal and an assist in four games.

O’Connell, from Gloucester, Ont., is in his first year with Penticton and has three goals and 14 points in 25 games. O’Connell joined the Vees from St. Andrews College in Aurora, Ont., and was a seventh-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in last year’s NHL Draft.

Tychonick and O’Connell will miss the final five Vees games before the Christmas break and will return to the lineup when the Vees visit Wenatchee Dec. 29 and 30.

With Tychonick and O’Connell making the roster, the Vees have now had at least one player represent Canada West at this event every year since its inception in 2007. Other BCHL players to make Canada West include: Forwards: Angus Crookshank and Brendan Budy (Langley), Ethan de Jong and Kyle Johnson (Prince George), Harrison Blaisdell and Corey Andonovski (Chilliwack), Ryan Van Unen (Merritt), Brett Stapley (Vernon), Carter Turnbull (Powell River), Ross Armour (Trail). Defencemen: Seth Barton (Trail). Goalies: Zach Rose (Victoria), Mitch Adamyk (Powell River).

FABBRO INVITE: Former Vees defenceman Dante Fabbro is one of 32 players invited to training camp for Team Canada at the World Under-20 Championships in Buffalo.

Fabbro, from New Westminster, plays at Boston University for the Terriers, where he has recorded four goals and 11 points in 17 games. As a freshman last season, Fabbro scored six goals and 18 points in 38 games.

Prior to his NCAA career, Fabbro played two seasons with the Vees from 2014-2016. As a rookie, Fabbro scored four goals and 33 points in 44 regular season games before racking up 15 points in 21 playoff games, helping the Vees to the 2015 Fred Page Cup championship.

Fabbro was selected in the first round, 17th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and played for Team Canada at the World Under-20 Junior Championship in Montreal, taking home a silver medal after a shootout loss to the U.S. in the final.