Hockey Canada announced the 194 players invited to attend the national teams’ Summer Showcase, set for July 19-Aug. 6 at Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.
Penticton Vees captain Tyson Jost and assistant captain Dante Fabbro are on the list for the under-18 team. Vees rookie Griffin Mendel has been invited to the under-17 camp. Jost and Fabbro have represented Canada before, playing in the World U17 Hockey Challenge and with Team Canada West in the World Junior A Challenge.
The Okanagan Hockey Academy had nine players chosen.
For U17, Mendel, a OHA grad, is joined by Jordan Hollett, Jonathan Smart, Scott Walford, Jordan Bellerive, Michael Rasmussen and Brendan Semchuk.
From the U17 development camp, 66 players will be selected on one of three national teams – Black, Red and White – at the 2015 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which is scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 7 in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John.
For the U18, former OHA players Josh Mahura (Red Deer Rebels) and Beck Malenstyn (Calgary Hitmen) are attending. Of the 43 players invited, 22 will be selected for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team for the 2015 U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, Aug. 10-15 in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for these groups to learn from and inspire each other as they all come together in Calgary,” said Hockey Canada’s vice-president of hockey operations and national teams Scott Salmond.
“We are looking forward to hosting the 194 players as they work towards representing Canada in international competition.”
Hollett was among 34 goalies that attended the Program of Excellence goaltending camp, June 12-14 at Canlan Ice Sports in Etobicoke, Ont. The Langley product finished the 2014-15 season with a 9-3-0 record for OHA Prep White, posting a 2.10 goals-against average, .899 save-percentage and two shutouts. Hollett, drafted in the first round, 13th overall, by the Regina Pats at the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft, was the only BC-born goaltender invited to the camp, which also featured nine goaltenders in the Under-20 category, and seven in the Under-18 category.
