Three Rockets Alumni named to Canada West All-Star & All-Rookie teams
Canada West’s men’s hockey all-star and all-rookie teams were announced Wednesday, as three former Rockets cracked the teams.
Goaltender Brodan Salmond was named to the rookie team, while defencemen Jesse Lees and Gordie Ballhorn were named to the second all-star team.
Of the 18 players honoured ahead of this weekend’s semifinal series, 16 are graduates of the WHL, highlighting the important role the WHL plays in providing the majority of CW men’s hockey talent.
The conference’s first all-star team was exclusively WHL grads, including goaltender Taran Kozun of the Saskatchewan Huskies and regular-season scoring champion Matt Alfaro of the Calgary Dinos. The pair combined to play nearly 400 WHL regular-season games over their junior careers, and will face off this weekend in Saskatoon when the Huskies host the Dinos in a best-of-three semifinal.
In the other conference semi, the Alberta Golden Bears and their five combined all-stars and all-rookies host the UBC Thunderbirds, who are fresh off an upset of Mount Royal in the conference quarters.
CW MEN’S HOCKEY PLAYOFF CENTRAL
Both semifinals go Friday and Saturday (Sunday if necessary), with puck drop at 7 p.m. local for all games. You can watch every game on the road to the CW Final by tuning into Canada West TV Presented by Co-op.
FIRST ALL-STAR TEAM
POSITION / NAME / UNIVERSITY / YEAR / PROGRAM / HOMETOWN / LAST WHL TEAM
G / Taran Kozun / Saskatchewan / 3 / Arts & Science / Nipawin, SK / Seattle
D / Adam Henry / Manitoba / 5 / Management / Winnipeg, MB / Portland
D / Clayton Kirichenko / Alberta / 3 / Kin., Sport, & Rec. / Sherwood Park, AB / Medicine Hat
F / Grayson Pawlenchuk / Alberta / 2 / Business / Edmonton, AB / Red Deer
F / Matthew Alfaro / Calgary / 3 / Business / Calgary, AB / Lethbridge
F / Riley Lindgren / Mount Royal / 2 / Arts / East St. Paul, MB / Swift Current
🏒 MHKY
🌟 ALL-STAR TEAM
👉 https://t.co/0G1YQjZqcX#BestoftheWest @TheWHL pic.twitter.com/HllWsiMRY6
— Canada West (@CanadaWest) February 19, 2020
SECOND ALL-STAR TEAM
F / Coda Gordon / Calgary / 5 / Business / Cochrane, AB / Swift Current
F / Cole Sanford / Alberta / 4 / Native Studies / Coldstream, BC / Regina
F / Collin Shirley / Saskatchewan / 3 / Business / Saskatoon, SK / Kamloops
D / Gordie Ballhorn / Saskatchewan / 2 / Business / Wetaskiwin, AB / Kelowna
D / Jesse Lees / Mount Royal / 4 / Health & Phys. Ed / Calgary, AB / Prince Albert&Kelowna
G / Riley Morris / Mount Royal / 2 / Open Studies / Calgary, AB / Okotoks (AJHL)
🏒 MHKY
⭐️⭐️ ALL-STAR TEAM
👉 https://t.co/0G1YQjZqcX#BestoftheWest pic.twitter.com/tvc2NGky89
— Canada West (@CanadaWest) February 19, 2020
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
F / Jared Dmytriw / Saskatchewan / Business / Craven, SK / Vancouver
F / Kaden Elder / Calgary / Open Studies / Saskatoon, SK / Swift Current
F / Noah Philp / Alberta / Arts / Canmore, AB / Seattle
D / Connor Blake / Mount Royal / Open Studies / Calgary, AB / Grande Prairie (AJHL)
D / Dawson Davidson / Alberta / Arts / Moosomin, SK / Saskatoon
G / Brodan Salmond / Calgary / Open Studies / Calgary, AB / Moose Jaw&Kelowna
🏒 MHKY
🚨 ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
👉 https://t.co/0G1YQjZqcX#BestoftheWest pic.twitter.com/mL3ve6GJJe
— Canada West (@CanadaWest) February 19, 2020
About Canada West
Since 1972, Canada West (CW) has been a leader in Canadian university sport, working to provide our student-athletes the opportunities to excel in sport, the classroom, and their communities. CW and our 17 members from across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba collectively carry on a legacy of competitive excellence, as our champions proudly go on to represent the conference at U SPORTS national championships.
Canada West – training leaders, building champions.
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 350 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.
