Chiefs prospect Ty Smith to Captain Canada at 2016 WYOG
Thursday February 11, 2016
LILLEHAMMER, Norway – Team Canada named defenceman Ty Smith (Lloydminster, Alta./Spokane Chiefs) captain for the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, with forward Benoît-Olivier Groulx (Gatineau, Que./2016 QMJHL Draft prospect) and defenceman Jett Woo (Winnipeg, Man./Moose Jaw Warriors) serving as alternate captains.
Canada’s roster features 12 draft eligible OHL and QMJHL prospects along with five players selected in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.
The 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games run Feb. 12-21, in Lillehammer, Norway.
Canada opens the Games on Saturday, Feb. 13, against Russia, and will also face Finland, Norway, and the United States during preliminary-round play. A complete tournament schedule can be found here.
“We feel that so far, Ty Smith, Benoît-Olivier Groulx, and Jett Woo have exemplified the type of role models we want for our team to have the identity that we’re looking for as we look towards playing our Canadian Way,” said head coach Martin Raymond of the selection. “We feel that these three young men will continue to provide strong examples to our young players as we move forward. We are all very excited to begin the tournament in a few days.”
The men’s hockey tournament features five countries – Canada, Finland, Norway, Russia, and the United States – who will play in a round-robin format before semifinals and the gold-medal game. In 2012, Team Canada won the bronze medal in Innsbruck, Austria.
The 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games will also feature the Men’s Skills Challenge, where players will be able to showcase their skills in six events – fastest lap, shooting accuracy, skating agility, fastest shot, passing precision, and puck control. Carson Focht (Regina, Sask./Tri-City Americans) will represent Canada in the challenge, which features 16 athletes from different national Olympic committees paired in head-to-head heats for points.
The players, born in 2000, were chosen by Ryan Jankowski, Hockey Canada’s director of player personnel, with support from regional scouts, Carl Bouchard (Quebec), Barclay Branch (Ontario), Wade Klippenstein (West), Kevin Mitchell (Atlantic), and Darrell Woodley (Ontario). Team selection was based on players’ permanent home residence, and players playing outside of Canada were not considered in the evaluation process. All regions (East, Ontario, and West) were ensured five players on the final Canadian roster, with the remaining two spots being awarded to the next-best players.
For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Twitter/HC_Men.
