CALGARY, AB – Hockey Canada announced on Thursday a list of 17 officials – six referees and 11 linesmen – who will work the games at the 2008 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, to in London, ON and surrounding communities.

Following is the list of officials who have been chosen for the 2008 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge:

Referees:

Ryan Bonnett - Hockey Alberta

Ben Buxton - Ontario Hockey Federation

Craig Fairbairn - Ottawa District Hockey Association

Trevor Hanson - BC Hockey

Jonathan McIsaac - Hockey Nova Scotia

Ryan Murphy - Hockey New Brunswick

Linesmen:

Steve Cochrane - Hockey Alberta

Alexandre Cote - Hockey Quebec

Andrew Cutcliffe - Hockey PEI

Jason Faist - Ontario Hockey Federation

TJ Foster - Ontario Hockey Federation

Jarett Gelowitz - Saskatchewan Hockey Association

Matthew Lawrence - Saskatchewan Hockey Association

Nicholas Leduc - Hockey Quebec

Dave Robichaud - Hockey Quebec

Darrell Surminski - Hockey Manitoba

Drew Williams - Ontario Hockey Federation

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is a 10-team tournament that includes five Canadian regional teams (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, West and Pacific) and five international teams (Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and USA). The event is the first step of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, which also includes the National Men’s Under-18 Team and the National Junior Team.

Just as the players use this event to progress through the Program of Excellence, so do the officials. Todd Anderson, Hockey Canada’s manager of officiating, says the officials at the 2008 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge have been chosen from a crop of the top officials in Canada.

“These are the referees and linesmen that you’ll be seeing in the future at Under-18 tournaments and, possibly, the IIHF World Junior Championship,” Anderson says. “These officials have worked hard to get to this point. We’re proud to have officials from all over Canada for this tournament.”