CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Junior Hockey League, announced Friday the 60 players that will attend the Canada West selection camp in preparation for the 2014 World Junior A Challenge.

The selection camp, scheduled for Dec. 7-9, will be held at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. The 60 players will be divided into three teams and play four intrasquad games (two 25-minute, running-time periods each) over two days.

Players named to the Canada West selection camp roster were selected from the CJHL’s five western Junior A 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).

The selection camp roster was chosen by Canada West head coach Trent Cassan (Yorkton, SJHL) along with assistant coaches Marc Berry (Dauphin, MJHL), Tim Fragle (Sherwood Park, AJHL) and Luke Pierce (Merritt, BCHL), and director of hockey operations Andrew Boutilier.

“There were a number of tough decisions we had to make as a staff, which speaks to the depth of talent in the CJHL leagues in Western Canada,” said Cassan. “But, in the end, we’re very excited about these 60 players, and we’re looking forward to getting on the ice in Calgary and working towards Kindersley.”

“The opportunity to compete for a spot to play for your country is quite an accomplishment for these players,” said Kirk Lamb, president of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. “I expect a very competitive camp and am looking forward to seeing Canada West come together and compete for gold in Kindersley.”

The Canada West selection camp roster includes:

• six goaltenders, 18 defencemen and 36 forwards;
• 25 players from the BCHL, 19 players from the AJHL, eight players from the SJHL, five players from the MJHL, and three players from the SIJHL;
• seven players returning from the 2013 World Junior A Challenge (Dombrovskiy, Gardner, Hannoun, Jenks, Keats, LaClare, Nixon);
• one player who was a member of Canada East at the 2013 World Junior A Challenge (Messenger);
• one player selected in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft (Gendron – Ottawa, third round, 70th overall).

The 2014 World Junior A Challenge will be held Dec. 14-20 at the West Central Events Centre in Kindersley, Sask. Canada West will play in Group B, joined by Denmark and Russia, while Canada East, Switzerland and the United States will comprise Group A.

Preliminary round play will run until Tuesday, Dec. 16, with both semifinals taking place Thursday, Dec. 18. The gold medal game, which will be shown nationally on TSN/RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, is set for Saturday, Dec. 20 (check your local listings).

All preliminary round games, quarter-finals, semifinals and the bronze medal game can be seen live and free through FASTHockey webcasts at www.hockeycanada.ca/wjac.

Full-tournament ticket packages for the 2014 World Junior A Challenge are now on sale, including tickets to all 13 games in Kindersley for only $225. To purchase tickets, please CLICK HERE.

Single-game ticket information will be announced closer to the start of the 2014 World Junior A Challenge.

Canada West has appeared in six of the eight gold medal games at the World Junior A Challenges, winning gold in 2006 in Yorkton, Sask., 2007 in Trail, B.C., and 2011 in Langley, B.C. It settled for silver in 2008 in Camrose, Alta., 2009 in Summerside, P.E.I., and 2012 in Yarmouth, N.S., won bronze last year in Yarmouth and finished fourth in 2010 in Penticton, B.C.

For more information on the 2014 World Junior A Challenge, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/wjac, and follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/wjrac or www.twitter.com/hc_wjac.