John McFarland Named Captain of Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team; Brandon Gormley and Erik Gudbranson to Serve As Alternate Captains
BRECLAV, Czech Republic – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, has announced that John McFarland (Richmond Hill, Ont./Sudbury, OHL) will be the captain of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2009 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, which runs from August 11-15, 2009 in Piestany, Slovakia and Breclav, Czech Republic.
In addition, Hockey Canada has announced that two players – Brandon Gormley (Murray River, P.E.I./Moncton, QMJHL) and Erik Gudbranson (Orleans, Ont./Kingston, OHL) will serve as alternate captains. McFarland and Gudbranson were members of Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team that finished fourth at the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Fargo, N.D. and Moorhead, Minn. in April.
“There are a number of character players that have shown us the qualities necessary to be a leader on a national team,” said Bob Boughner, Canada’s head coach. “Our coaching staff has decided that these three players represent all of these qualities, and can lead this team to gold.”Canada’s roster of 22 players for the 2009 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka was announced on Tuesday, August 4 after a four-day selection camp, which included on-ice practices and three Red-White intersquad games.
Canada’s players and staff departed Canada on Wednesday, August 5 and have played a pair of pre-tournament games, defeating the United States 6-1 on Friday, August 7 and earning a 7-1 win over Slovakia on Sunday, August 9.
The defending tournament champion, Canada opens the 2009 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka on Tuesday, August 11 when it faces Sweden in Breclav. Canada will also face Switzerland and the Czech Republic in preliminary round play.
There will be no TV or radio coverage of the event. Hockey Canada’s official website, hockeycanada.ca, is the place to find complete coverage of Canada at the tournament
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