Townsman Staff
Two future Kootenay Ice players struck gold this past weekend as members of Team Alberta at the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup.
The tournament is an annual contest which features the highest rated players in the under 16 age category representing the four western provinces of Alberta, BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This year the event was held in Calgary, Alberta, and saw Alberta beat BC in the finals, 3-2 in OT.
Alberta’s team was captained by recent Kootenay first overall draft pick Peyton Krebs, who also earned a spot on the five-player Challenge Cup All-Star team.
Alberta also featured Nolan Orzeck, a defenseman from Calgary who was taken in the fourth round, 67th overall by Kootenay in the 2016 draft.
Krebs and Orzeck defeated a BC team which had Ice goalie prospect Jesse Makaj on its roster, who received a silver medal.
The Ice also had two representatives on Team Saskatchewan — forward prospect Blake Allan and assistant coach Gordon Burnett — who finished fourth.
