He may not have made the final roster, but it was still a valuable learning experience for Austin Plevy.
Plevy was among the invitees in Calgary trying to land a spot on Canada West for the upcoming World Junior A Challenge, which will be contested Nov. 5 to 11 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
But when the final roster was unveiled Thursday, Plevy’s name was not on it.
“Disappointed; I thought I had a good camp, but it was still a great experience,” he said.
“I played my best and did everything I could to try and make the team.
“But some times, these things happen.”
While playing for his country would have been a phenomenal experience — Plevy called it a lifelong dream to get to wear the Maple Leaf — he said there was lots he learned
“You have to take it is a positive: you did something right to get invited,” he said.
This is not the first time the Langley Minor Hockey Association product has caught the eye of the WJAC organizers.
At this time last year, when the Langley Events Centre hosted the 2011 WJAC event, Plevy was participating in the event’s prospects game.
The game featured NHL and NCAA scouts.
Plevy called that experience “a taste of what could have been” and was hoping to land a spot on the Canada West roster for the 2012 event.
Instead, he heads back home to re-join the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Plevy, who turns 18 on Nov. 14, is having a breakout offensive year for the BCHL junior A hockey club with 11 goals and 23 points in the first 18 games of the 2012/13 campaign.
It was a busy off-season for Plevy who was traded from the Langley Rivermen to the Merritt Centennials in exchange for another local player, Jakob Reichert. But Merritt quickly flipped Plevy to Chilliwack for another player, re-uniting the winger with Harvey Smyl, who had initially brought Plevy to Langley.
Plevy is on the Chiefs’ top line with Luke Esposito and Josh Hansen and the trio have carried Chilliwack so far, contributing 26 of the team’s 49 goals and a combined 60 points. They are the only three on the roster in double digits for points as the Chiefs sit two points back of Prince George for the Mainland Division lead.
“I feel confident this year and I have some really good line mates,” Plevy offered up for his hot start. “We have developed really good chemistry over the past couple of weeks.” 
“I just have to keep doing what I was doing before and keep putting up some numbers,” he added.
“There is no question he deserved to be there (at the camp) with the way he has played this year,” said Smyl.
As for Plevy’s solid start in his third season of junior A — he had 12 points in 53 games his first year and then 43 points in 58 games last year — Smyl said it is simple.
“He is really on the puck well, using his speed and his skill,” the coach said.
“(And the line), they are making the most of their opportunities.”
Plevy, who is five-foot-10 and 175 pounds, has already secured a university scholarship to join the Merrimack Warriors, but he is undecided if he will attend next season or wait one more year.
“It just depends on how much my body develops to see (when) I make the jump to college hockey,” he said.
