Canada's Under 18 Team Named for Eight Nations Tournament
CALGARY, AB - The Canadian Hockey Association announced Thursday Canada's National Under-18 roster of 22 players that have been selected to represent Canada at the 2002 Eight Nations Tournament, a competition between the world's best Under 18 hockey players.
The Eight Nations Tournament will be held from August 12-18, 2002 in Piestany, Slovakia. Canada enters the tournament as reigning champion and has won five straight Under-18 August Championships, dating back to 1997.
The selection comes after a week-long development camp in Calgary, AB which saw 34 of Canada's top under-18 players vying for a spot on Team Canada. Head Coach Jim Hulton (OHL's Belleville Bulls) along with assistant coaches Rick Allain (OHL's Peterborough Petes) and Dean Chynoweth (WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds) and CHA Head Scout Blair Mackasey conducted evaluations throughout the week, coming up with Canada's final roster.
The development camp is part of the CHA's Program of Excellence (POE), which provides players with international experience and develops players for Canada's National Junior Team and other international events.
"After working with these guys for the past week, I am extremely excited to be heading to Slovakia with such an outstanding group", said Hulton. "The talent level of our players is very high and we are all ready for the challenge that awaits us. We look forward to representing our country in Slovakia."
The eleven players that were released from Canada's Under 18 development camp were: goaltenders Réjean Beauchemin and Bryan Bridges, defensemen Jean-Michel Bolduc, Brennan Chapman, Mike Looby, Nathan Saunders and Darryl Yacboski, and forwards released were Jeremy Colliton, Philippe Dupuis, Eric Fehr and Ryan Getzlaf.
Team Canada will be leaving for Slovakia from Calgary on AC flight #844, Friday, August 9th at 6:00pm MT.
Canada's round robin tournament schedule at the 8 Nations Cup in Slovakia is as follows:
August 12 vs. Slovakia 6:00pm (12:00pm ET)
August 13 vs. Finland 3:00pm (9:00am ET)
August 15 vs. Switzerland 3:00pm (9:00am ET)
Under 18 Team Leader, Scott Salmond can be reached for media requests, in Slovakia at the Hotel Signal
(011 421 33 762 239 3) or via cell phone (011 421 90 482 463 2).
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