This week Hockey Alberta announced the 80 athletes who were invited to the upcoming Team Alberta U16 Male Summer Camp.
The 80 players listed consist of seven who are from central Alberta and invited to compete for a spot on the province’s roster for the 2023 WHL Cup.
The camp will take place in Red Deer at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre from July 4-9. From there, a shortlist will be made by the coaching staff and the players will be scouted until the final roster is set. The final 20 players will represent Alberta at the WHL Cup in Red Deer from Oct. 17-22.
The selections were made by the scouting process during the 2022-23 season as well as the Alberta Cup that took place at the end of April.
“Throughout the course of the season and the Alberta Cup, we’ve watched many talented players,” said Mike Kraichy, Manager of Elite Male Hockey in a media release. “This is the next step in the process, and we’ve selected players who we believe have what it takes to represent Alberta at an elite level.”
Those invited from central Alberta include Dallin Antos (Red Deer), Dermot Johnston (Olds), Daxon Rudolph (Lacombe), Easton Daneault (Red Deer), Kohen Lodge (Red Deer), Nash Nicolay (Rocky Mountain House), and Ordell Saddleback (Maskwacis).
The coaching and support staff has also been selected by Hockey Alberta led by head coach James Poole. This will be Poole’s third consecutive time behind the bench for Team Alberta serving as an assistant during the 2023 Caanda Winter Games and a video coach in the 2021 WHL Cup.
Joining him are assistant coaches Duncan Milroy and Derrick Martin who are both from Edmonton. Red Deer’s Brady Bakke, who is an assistant coach for the AJHL’s Blackfalds Bulldogs, was announced as the team’s video coach.