WORLD JUNIOR CAMPS OPENING WITH FOUR KNIGHTS LOOKING TO IMPRESS
Teams hit the ice for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Toronto and Montreal this coming December but the selection camps start a lot sooner than that. Most will begin their camps and exhibition game play beginning this coming weekend and there are four London Knights hoping to crack the roster for their respective countries.
Forwards Bo Horvat and Max Domi will be attending Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp, set for August 3-8 in Brossard, Montreal and Sherbrooke, Quebec. Horvat, a 1st round draft pick (9th Overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft to the Vancouver Canucks, was a member of the 2014 Canadian World Junior Team when they competed in Malmo, Sweden. In seven tournament games last year, Horvat tallied 1 goal, 2 assists and 6 penalty minutes while the team finished fourth falling to Russia in the bronze medal game. Domi, also drafted in the 1st round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft (12th overall) to the Phoenix Coyotes, was left off of the 2014 World Junior Team but has previous international experience having competed with Horvat on both the gold medal winning Team Canada at the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament as well as bronze medal winning Team Ontario U-17 team.
Michael McCarron, a native of Macomb, Michigan and a 1st round draft pick (25th overall) of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, will hope to capitalize on his size and skill when he attends the U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp that takes place from August 2-9 in Lake Placid, New York. McCarron was acquired by the Knights in a trade with the Belleville Bulls in June of 2012. In 66 games with Knights last season, he netted 14 goals and 22 assists along with 120 penalty minutes. McCarron has previous experience with the U.S. National Hockey Program having played two seasons for the U-18 and U-17 National Development Teams.
Newly acquired defenseman Julius Bergman, selected in the 1st round of the 2014 CHL Import Draft, will hope to continue his hockey development this season when he attends Sweden’s World Junior Evaluation Camp. Bergman, a native of Karlskrona, Sweden, was a 2nd round (46th overall) selection of the San Jose Sharks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and has committed to the Knights for this upcoming season, entering into an Ontario Hockey League Standard Player’s Agreement on July 25th. Bergman and the rest of the Team Sweden’s evaluation camp roster, along with Team Finland and Team Czech Republic will be in Lake Placid, New York August 2-9th to participate in a four team exhibition tournament hosted by Team USA.
Two other London Knights will be attending Hockey Canada Evaluation Camps this summer including forward Mitchell Marner and defenseman Tyler Nother. Marner will be one of 44 players that will hit the ice August 2-5 at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Alberta for Canada’s U-18 evaluation camp. This camp will select the team that will travel to Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia for the 2014 IIHF Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament which runs from August 11-16.
Nother and 96 other Canadian invitees began the Canada U-17 National Evaluation camp on July 29th and will run until August 4th. This camp will select the three Canadian teams that will compete at the IIHF U-17 World Hockey Challenge taking place in Sarnia Ontario, Canada October 31- November 8.
