Guhle, Wiesblatt Invited To Hockey Canada’s National U17 Development Camp
Prince Albert, SK – Prince Albert Raiders prospects Kaiden Guhle and Ozzy Wiesblatt were two of 28 WHL players to be invited to Hockey Canada’s national under-17 development camp as the road to the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge begins.
The camp itself will take place from July 21-27 in at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park Calgary, Alta.
Guhle and Wiesblatt are coming off impressive seasons with their respective midget clubs. Guhle, the first overall pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, had 14 goals and 25 assists in 35 games for the CSSHL’s OHA Edmonton Prep. The Sherwood Park, AB product also earned CSSHL Freshman of the Year and Top Defenceman awards at the end of the year.
Wiesblatt, picked 25th overall by the Raiders in 2017, scored 21 goals and added 20 assists in 30 games for the AMHL’s Calgary Buffaloes. He finished eighth in AMHL scoring. The Calgary, AB product also scored in his lone game as a call up with the Raiders this season.
[related_links]
For the duration of the week-long camp, the players – 12 goaltenders, 36 defencemen, and 63 forwards – will be split into six teams for on- and off-ice training, fitness testing, practices, intrasquad games, and classroom sessions.
The breakdown by WHL players includes four goaltenders, 10 defencemen, and 14 forwards. For many of the WHL players invited to the camp, it won’t be their first time attending the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport. Of the 28 WHL drafted players invited to July’s camp, 26 participated in the 2017 WHL Cup, featuring eight players from British Columbia, who won gold at the event, including golden-goal scorer Ben King, a forward prospect of the Swift Current Broncos.
From the other provinces in Western Canada, Alberta boasts the highest total with 13 players from the Wild Rose province while four came from Saskatchewan, and three more from Manitoba.
All six members of the 2017 WHL Cup All-Star Team earned invites, including Guhle and Saskatchewan goaltender Bryan Thomson, a prospect of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Other All-Stars earning invitations were defenceman Daemon Hunt (Brandon, Man. / Moose Jaw Warriors), forward Justin Sourdif (Surrey, B.C. / Vancouver Giants), forward Kyle Crnkovic (Chestermere, Alta. / Saskatoon Blades), and forward Connor McClennon (Wainwright, Alta. / Kootenay ICE).
A quartet of Alberta players invited to the camp also led the 2017 WHL Cup in scoring. Crnkovic led all players with 12 points (3G-9A) while McClennon finished with 10 points (6G-4A). The highest-scoring defenceman from the tournament, Guhle recorded nine points (5G-4A) and forward Jake Neighbours (Airdrie, Alta. / Edmonton Oil Kings) rounded out the top four for scoring with seven points (1G-6A). Overall, 18 of the 28 WHL players invited were selected in the first round of the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.
Dylan Garand (Victoria, B.C. / Kamloops Blazers) is the lone goaltender to have already made his WHL debut. Additionally, 18 of the skaters invited to the camp have already made their WHL debuts.
Brad McEwen, head scout for Hockey Canada, was responsible for all player selections, with assistance from regional scouts Carl Bouchard (Quebec), Barclay Branch (Ontario), Vancouver Giants general manager Barclay Parneta (West), Darren Sutherland (Atlantic), and Darrell Woodley (Ontario), as well as member representatives.
“The national under-17 development camp provides a unique opportunity for players to learn about what it takes to be part of Team Canada alongside the best young talent in the country,” said Shawn Bullock, Hockey Canada’s senior manager of hockey operations and men’s national teams. “The players are here with the ultimate goal of wearing the Team Canada jersey in international competition, and we are supporting them in that goal by providing the on- and off-ice experiences they need to develop and grow as high-performance athletes.”
Following the development camp, players will continue to be evaluated through the early season before 66 are named to one of three Canadian national teams – Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red, and Team Canada White – who will compete at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge scheduled for Nov. 3-10 in Saint John and Quispamsis, N.B.
This year, all 111 players have been drafted by Canadian Hockey League teams, including 54 from the Ontario Hockey League, 29 from the Western Hockey League, and 28 from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Media accreditation for the Team Canada Summer Showcase taking place at WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre that includes Canada’s national under-17 development camp can be requested online. The full camp schedule will be available at a later date at HockeyCanada.ca.
For more information on Hockey Canada and the Program of Excellence, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Twitter.com/HC_Men.
| Name | Height | Weight | Born | Hometown | 2017-18 Team | CHL Draft | |
| Garin Bjorklund | L | 5’11” | 147 | 05/28/02 | Grande Prairie, Alta. | Calgary Buffaloes (AMHL) | MH 2017 (1/21) |
| Sebastian Cossa | L | 6’4” | 208 | 11/21/02 | Fort McMurray, Alta. | Fort Saskatchewan (AMHL) | EDM 2017 (2/36) |
| Dylan Garand | L | 6’0” | 160 | 06/07/02 | Victoria, B.C. | Delta Hockey Academy (CSSHL) | KAM 2017 (3/58) |
| Bryan Thomson | L | 6’1” | 163 | 04/09/02 | Moose Jaw, Sask. | Notre Dame Argos (SMAAAHL) | LET 2017 (2/37) |
| Tom Cadieux | R | 6’0” | 147 | 09/11/02 | Saskatoon, Sask. | Saskatoon Blazers (SMAAAHL) | TC 2017 (2/34) |
| Aidan De La Gorgendiere | L | 5’11½” | 167 | 02/22/02 | Langley, B.C. | Yale Hockey Academy (CSSHL) | SAS 2017 (1/5) |
| Kaiden Guhle | L | 6’2” | 177 | 01/18/02 | Sherwood Park, Alta. | OHA Edmonton (CSSHL) | PA 2017 (1/1) |
| Daemon Hunt | L | 5’11” | 195 | 05/02/02 | Brandon, Man. | Brandon (MMAAAHL) | MJ 2017 (1/15) |
| Vincent Iorio | R | 6’0” | 167 | 11/14/02 | Coquitlam, B.C. | Shattuck-St. Mary’s (USU16) | BDN 2017 (2/27) |
| Anthony Kehrer | R | 5’11” | 198 | 03/04/02 | Winnipeg, Man. | Rink Hockey Academy (CSSHL) | BDN 2017 (2/30) |
| Luke Prokop | R | 6’2¼” | 188 | 05/06/02 | Edmonton, Alta. | Northern Alberta (CSSHL) | CGY 2017 (1/7) |
| Ronan Seeley | L | 5’9½” | 147 | 08/02/02 | Olds, Alta. | Lethbridge (AMHL) | EVT 2017 (1/20) |
| Joel Sexsmith | L | 6’0” | 172 | 04/13/02 | Edmonton, Alta. | Northern Alberta (CSSHL) | SC 2017 (1/9) |
| Ethan Bowen | L | 6’0” | 155 | 05/14/02 | Chilliwack, B.C. | Fraser Valley (BCMML) | KEL 2017 (2/39) |
| Noah Boyko | R | 5’11” | 164 | 08/29/02 | St. Albert, Alta. | Fort Saskatchewan (AMHL) | LET 2017 (1/16) |
| Kyle Crnkovic | L | 5’7” | 171 | 02/10/02 | Chestermere, Alta. | Northern Alberta (CSSHL) | SAS 2017 (1/10) |
| Ethan Ernst | R | 5’11” | 170 | 01/26/02 | Yorkton, Sask. | Notre Dame Hounds (SMAAAHL) | KEL 2017 (3/61) |
| Jack Finley | R | 6’4” | 193 | 09/02/02 | Kelowna, B.C. | Okanagan (BCMML) | SPO 2017 (1/6) |
| Ridly Greig | L | 5’8” | 137 | 08/08/02 | Lethbridge, Alta. | Lethbridge (AMHL) | BDN 2017 (1/8) |
| Seth Jarvis | R | 5’8½” | 155 | 02/01/02 | Winnipeg, Man. | Rink Hockey Academy (CSSHL) | POR 2017 (1/11) |
| Ben King | R | 6’1” | 173 | 05/15/02 | Vernon, B.C. | Okanagan (BCMML) | SC 2017 (1/13) |
| Connor McClennon | R | 5’7¼” | 148 | 06/25/02 | Wainwright, Alta. | Northern Alberta (CSSHL) | KOO 2017 (1/2) |
| Payton Mount | R | 5’8” | 175 | 01/19/02 | Victoria, B.C. | Delta Hockey Academy (CSSHL) | SEA 2017 (1/19) |
| Jake Neighbours | L | 5’10” | 195 | 03/29/02 | Airdrie, Alta. | Calgary Buffaloes (AMHL) | EDM 2017 (1/4) |
| Josh Pillar | R | 5’10” | 145 | 02/14/02 | Warman, Sask. | Prince Albert (SMAAAHL) | KAM 2017 (1/14) |
| Cole Shepard | L | 5’9” | 150 | 02/02/03 | West Vancouver, B.C. | Delta Hockey Academy (CSSHL) | VAN 2017 (2/33) |
| Justin Sourdif | R | 5’9½” | 160 | 03/24/02 | Surrey, B.C. | Valley West (BCMML) | VAN 2017 (1/3) |
| Ozzy Wiesblatt | R | 5’9½” | 168 | 03/09/02 | Calgary, Alta. | Calgary Buffaloes (AMHL) | PA 2017 (2/25) |
#NEWS | The road to the @HC_WU17 begins with 1⃣1⃣1⃣ players attending Canada's national under-17 development camp, July 21-27 in Calgary. MORE: https://t.co/dsBPY4z1me 🏒🍁 pic.twitter.com/ST7NULZ0qs
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) June 8, 2018
