TORONTO, Ont. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced Monday the 22 players who will play for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2013 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, Aug. 5-10 in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. Canada is based in Breclav for the preliminary round, at the Alcaplast Arena.

The roster was finalized Monday following Hockey Canada’s four-day selection camp at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto. The camp included daily practices and three Red-White intrasquad games.

Canada’s roster is made up of 13 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders. Head coach Dale Hunter (Petrolia, Ont./London, OHL), assembled the roster with support from assistant coaches Dominique Ducharme (Joliette, Que./Halifax, QMJHL) and D.J. Smith (Windsor, Ont./Oshawa, OHL), Ryan Jankowski, Hockey Canada’s head scout for the men’s Program of Excellence, and three members of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence management group: Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of hockey operations/national teams, Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada’s senior manager of hockey operations/national teams, and Mark Hunter (Petrolia, Ont./London, OHL)

Canada has won the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament five consecutive years, and has won 18 of 23 summer under-18 tournaments since 1991. It will play in Group A in Breclav with Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland. Group B, which consists of Finland, Russia, Slovakia and the United States, will play out of PIestany.

Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team breakdown:

• two goaltenders, seven defencemen, 13 forwards
• 22 players from the Canadian Hockey League
• seven players from the Western Hockey League
• eight players from the Ontario Hockey League
• seven players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
• 21 players with experience in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence

Canada will face Slovakia in a pre-tournament game in Piestany on Saturday, Aug. 3 before opening the tournament against the Czech Republic on Monday, Aug. 5. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals on Friday, Aug. 9, with the gold medal game scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10.

There will be no TV or radio coverage of the event. Hockey Canada’s official website, www.hockeycanada.ca, is the place to find complete coverage of Canada at the tournament.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Direct all Team Canada media inquiries during the 2013 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament to team manager Shawn Bullock ([email protected]). 

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team and Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_men.