21 OHL Players Selected to Represent Team Ontario at World Under-17 Hockey Challenge
Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that 21 OHL players will represent Team Ontario at the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge to be played December 29th through January 4th, 2011.
The announcement of the 22-man roster was made today by Team Ontario Director of Operations Robert Kitamura.
“After evaluating these high performance athletes during the last 2 months, I am pleased and proud to announce this year’s men’s Under-17 Team that will represent Ontario at the upcoming 2010/2011 World Hockey Challenge being held in Winnipeg, Manitoba said Team Ontario Director of Operations Rob Kitamura. Selecting a team from the available talent pool in Ontario is always a difficult task; however, I believe that the coaching staff and I have selected the 22 best players that will represent Ontario with pride and class both on and off the ice at this high performance event. We are confident that this group of athletes are committed and prepared to compete for the Gold medal at the upcoming World Hockey Challenge, stated Kitamura.”
OHL Players on Team Ontario:
Goaltenders:
Jake Paterson, Saginaw Spirit
Defencemen:
Slater Koekkoek, Peterborough Petes
Jesse Graham, Niagara IceDogs
Gianluca Curcuruto, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Adam Pelech, Erie Otters
Alex Gudbranson, Kingston Frontenacs
Marcus McIvor, Brampton Battalion
Matthew Finn, Guelph Storm
Forwards:
Matia Marcantuoni, Kitchener Rangers
Brendan Gaunce, Belleville Bulls
Scott Laughton, Oshawa Generals
Brody Silk, Sudbury Wolves
Justin Kea, Saginaw Spirit
Matthew Campagna, Sudbury Wolves
Garrett Hooey, Sarnia Sting
Sean Monahan, Ottawa 67’s
Kerby Rychel, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors
Jarrod Maidens, Owen Sound Attack
Chris Marchese, Erie Otters
Andreas Athanasiou, London Knights
Thomas Wilson, Plymouth Whalers
In addition to the 21 players above, goaltender Matthew Murray of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and defenceman Luke Mercer of the Niagara IceDogs have been selected as alternates.
2011 Team Ontario Staff:
Robert Kitamura, Director of Operations
Jake Grimes, Head Coach (Belleville Bulls)
Troy Smith, Assistant Coach (Kitchener Rangers)
Jeff Reid, Assistant Coach
Dan Buckland, Head Trainer (Sudbury Wolves)
Matt Sands, Equipment Manager (Belleville Bulls)
Victor Carneiro, Assistant Director (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
This international event features five regional teams competing from across Canada and five international teams from Finland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany and USA.
Team Ontario will play in a conference against Team Atlantic, Team Pacific, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Team Ontario will begin their quest for Gold on December 28th with an exhibition game against Finland and will play their first game of the round-robin series against the Czech Republic on December 29th. The bronze and gold medal games will be played on January 4th and will be televised on TSN.
The Hockey Development Centre for Ontario (HDCO) facilitates the Men’s Under-17 hockey program on behalf of the 3 Ontario Branches of Hockey Canada.
For more information please visit www.hdco.on.ca.
