CALGARY – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Junior A Hockey League (CJAHL), announced today the 22 players who will make up Team Canada West at the 2007 World Junior A Challenge in Trail and Nelson, BC from November 5-11, 2007.

The Canada West roster is comprised of players from the CJAHL’s five western leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

“It brings me great pleasure to be able to announce the complete roster for Team Canada West today,” said general manager Darcy Rota. “The coaching staff has done a tremendous amount of scouting, and paid very close attention to the players we have in Western Canada. We are very confident that we have selected the best available players from this region to represent Team Canada West.”

“The players that we have selected for Team Canada West are ones that we feel will give us the best opportunity to win the gold medal in this tournament,” said head coach Boris Rybalka. “There are so many good players in the west, which made the selection process very difficult. We are very proud to have narrowed the list down to the 22 players who we feel will best represent our team in the 2007 World Junior A Challenge."

The roster announced today is the result of extensive scouting done by Rota, Rybalka (Camrose, AJHL) and assistant coaches Dwight McMillan (Weyburn, SJHL) and Al Glendinning (Merritt, BCHL).

The roster includes:

Two (2) goaltenders, seven (7) defensemen and 13 forwards

Six (6) players currently leading their teams in scoring (Cherniwchan – Drayton Valley, Colborne – Camrose, Lee – Salmon Arm, Robinson – Cowichan Valley, Pierro-Zabotel – Merritt, Julseth-White – Langley)

One (1) player currently leading his league in scoring (Colborne – AJHL)

Two (2) returning players from the 2006 World Junior A Challenge (Pierro-Zabotel, Kipp)

Three (3) players selected in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (Pierro-Zabotel – Pittsburgh, 3rd Round, 80th Overall, Eidsness – Buffalo, 5th Round, 139th Overall, York – Columbus, 6th Round, 158th Overall)

Nine (9) players from the BCHL, nine (9) players from the AJHL, two (2) players from the MJHL, one (1) player from the SJHL, one (1) player from the SIJHL

The 2007 World Junior A Challenge is a six-team international event featuring two Canadian entries (West and East) and national teams from Russia, Germany, Belarus and the USA. The gold medal game will take place on Sunday, November 11 and will be broadcast on TSN, the official broadcaster of Hockey Canada (check your local listings).

Ticket packages are available by filling out the order form, or by calling 1-250-364-0808. Ticket packages include one gold medal game ticket, one bronze medal game ticket, one consolation round game ticket, two qualifying round game tickets and three round-robin game tickets. Packages are available for adult ($99), senior ($89) and youth ($79). Youth packages also include one ‘Skate with Team Canada’ ticket. Additional tickets can be added to each package.