Tyson Jost is honoured for another chance to represent his country.
Jost, the Penticton Vees captain, and alternate captain Dante Fabbro, are among 60 players invited to earn one of 22 spots on Team Canada West’s final 2015 World Junior A Challenge roster when it hosts the team’s selection camp, Dec. 5-8.
“It’s exciting and it’s always humbling when you get to represent your country,” said Jost, following the Vees’ 4-3 overtime win over the Vernon Vipers on Wednesday.
Hockey Canada made the announcement Wednesday. Players named to the Team Canada West selection camp roster were selected from the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s five western Junior A leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).
The camp roster includes six goaltenders, 21 defencemen and 33 forwards. Eighteen of those forwards are from the BCHL and along with Jost and Fabbro as returnees is Tyler Busch of the Spruce Grove Saints. The selection camp roster was chosen by Team Canada West head coach Tim Fragle (Sherwood Park, AJHL) along with assistant coaches Paul Dyck (Steinbach, MJHL), Mike Reagan (Flin Flon, SJHL) and Barry Wolff (Coquitlam, BCHL) and director of hockey operations Trevor Alto (BCHL).
The selection camp, scheduled for Dec. 5-8, will be held at the Leduc Recreation Centre in Leduc, Alta.
The selection camp, scheduled for Dec. 5-8, will be held at the Leduc Recreation Centre in Leduc, Alta. The camp is just 40 minutes from Jost’s hometown of St. Albert, which excites him since his family will be able to come watch.
“It’s going to be good to have them all there,” said Jost.
The 60 players will be divided into three teams and play four intrasquad games (two 25-minute, running-time periods each) over three days.
“With the tremendous amount of talent in Western Canada, there were tough decisions to get to these 60 players and we’re expecting it to be even tougher to get down to the final 22,” said Fragle. “It’s going to be an exciting four days in Leduc and as a staff we can’t wait to get started in Ontario on Dec. 13.”
Team Canada West will go head-to-head with Russia on Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Duncan McDonald Memorial Gardens, home of the OJHL’s Trenton Golden Hawks.
This year marks the 10th edition of the World Junior A Challenge – executed as part of a partnership between Hockey Canada and the CJHL. The event visits Ontario for the first time since its inception in 2006. Two Canadian teams and four international squads will form the two groups of three teams that face off Dec. 13-19 at the Cobourg Community Centre in Cobourg and the Iroquois Park Sports Centre in Whitby.
Seven of the nine gold-medal games at the World Junior A Challenge have featured at least one Canadian team. Team Canada West won gold at the first two tournaments, in 2006 and 2007, and also took the top prize in 2011. The team also earned silver in 2008, 2009 and 2012, and won bronze in 2013. Team Canada East earned silver medals in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011, and claimed bronze in 2008.
