Teams begin final push to firm up rosters
Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League ( CJHL), with assistance from NHL Central Scouting, have zeroed in on a list of 100 players from across the country who are invited to selection camps in advance of the 2017 World Junior A Challenge.
The Challenge is being hosted by Truro, Dec. 10-16 at the Ratheastlink Community Centre.
From Dec. 2-5, 40 Team Canada East hopefuls will gather at the Mastercard Centre in Etobicoke, Ont., for four days of scheduled games and practices as part of Team Canada East’s evaluation process.
The players were selected from among the CJHL’S five eastern Junior A leagues, which includes the Maritime Hockey League.
“A tremendous amount of work has gone in to this process of talent-identification by our Team Canada East staff since the beginning of this season,” said Paul Currie of Stratford, P.E.I., director of operations for Team Canada East.
“It was an incredible effort to go from 70 teams across the five eastern CJHL leagues to this group of 40 players, and we are looking forward to a very competitive camp as we look to narrow down this talent pool to a final 22-player roster that will represent the team in Truro next month.”
Team Canada East, the 2016 silver- medallists, will open this year’s tournament against Russia in prime time on Sunday, Dec. 10.
Meanwhile, a group of 60 invitees will assemble in Calgary Dec. 2-5 for four days of practices and games as part of the Team Canada West selection camp.
Team Canada West will open its tournament against the Czech Republic at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 10.
Ticket options
Full- tournament packages give fans the best value at $175 (including fees and applicable taxes) and are the only way to secure reserved seating. All other ticket options will be general admission.
The tournament package includes all 13 tournament games and are available online at Hockeycanada.ca/tickets, in-person at the RECC, or by calling 1-888311-9090.
An Evening Game package, which includes a general admission ticket to all six evening games plus the gold-medal game, is now also available in limited quantities starting at $99.50.
Beginning Friday, Dec. 1, all other ticket options will also be available, including singlegame tickets, a $25 Day Pass valid for single-day use Dec. 1014, and a Family Four-pack for $49.50.
Pre-tournament games
The RECC will also host two pre-tournament games on Friday, Dec. 8. At 3:30 p.m., the Czech Republic will take on the Truro Bearcats, while Team Canada East will play Team USA at 7:30 p.m. that same evening.
Team Canada West and Russia will travel to nearby Amherst for a 7:30 p.m. pre-tournament game on Dec. 8 as well as a warmup to the official puck-drop on the World Junior A Challenge on Dec. 10.
Tickets for the pre-tournament games will go on sale Dec. 1 at Hockeycanada.ca/tickets or at the RECC Arena and Amherst Stadium box offices.