December 5, 2018
Seven BC players lead the contingent of 22 Junior A players selected for Team Canada West, announced by Hockey Canada today.
The team will open competition in the 2018 World Junior A Challenge vs Team USA in Bonnyville, Alberta, on Sunday, December 9.
The BC players include four forwards: Harrison Blaisdell of Abbotsford (Chilliwack Chiefs); Massimo Rizzo of Burnaby (Penticton Vees); Ethan Leyh of Port Moody (Langley Rivermen), and Alex Swetlikoff of Kelowna (Vernon Vipers).
Three defensemen also made the cut, Jack Judson of White Rock (Vernon Vipers), and two players from North Vancouver, Carter Berger (Victoria Grizzlies) and Layton Ahac (Prince George Spruce Kings).
Interestingly, there are also three players from Quebec, two from Ontario and one from Massachusetts on the Canada West squad. The three Quebec players all play in the BCHL, as do the two Ontario players and the lone American forward. There is also one player from Newfoundland, top prospect Alex Newhook, who is also playing in the BC league.
Five players from Alberta and three from Manitoba round out the team.
In terms of leagues, the BCHL rostered the most players, including 9 of 13 forwards and 5 of 7 defensemen.
The players were selected from the CJHL’s five western Junior A leagues: Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey Leauge (MJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).
The Team Canada West coaching staff, led by Rick Swan (Sherwood Park, Alta./Bonnyville, AJHL) and director of operations Kevin Saurette (Brandon, Man./MJHL), named the Team Canada West roster after three days of competition, on December 5.
The first game vs United States will get underway at 7 p.m. MT on December. 9 at the R.J. Lalonde Arena in Bonnyville.
Forwards
| # | Forwards | ||||||
| 10 | Reilly Funk | L | 6’3 | 190 | 12/23/00 | Portage la Prairie, MB | Portage (MJHL) |
| 11 | Alexander Campbell | L | 5’11 | 155 | 2/27/01 | Châteauguay, QC | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 12 | Mathieu Gosselin | R | 5’9 | 160 | 5/18/99 | Quebec City, QC | Merritt (BCHL) |
| 15 | Dylan Holloway | L | 6’1 | 192 | 9/23/01 | Bragg Creek, AB | Okotoks (AJHL) |
| 16 | Harrison Blaisdell | L | 5’11 | 173 | 3/18/01 | Abbotsford, BC | Chilliwack (BCHL) |
| 17 | Riley Hughes | R | 6’1 | 180 | 6/27/00 | Westwood, MA | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 18 | Massimo Rizzo | L | 5’10 | 180 | 6/13/01 | Burnaby, BC | Penticton (BCHL) |
| 19 | Austin Wong | R | 5’11 | 196 | 10/26/00 | Cochrane, AB | Okotoks (AJHL) |
| 20 | David Silye | R | 5’11 | 184 | 3/2/99 | Arnprior, ON | Penticton (BCHL) |
| 21 | Ethan Leyh | L | 6’0 | 187 | 1/28/01 | Port Moody, BC | Langley (BCHL) |
| 22 | Alex Newhook | L | 5’11 | 190 | 1/28/01 | St. John’s, N.L. | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 23 | Matt Osadick | L | 5’11 | 180 | 2/8/00 | Grande Pointe, MB | Swan Valley (MJHL) |
| 24 | Alex Swetlikoff | L | 6’3 | 190 | 7/6/01 | Kelowna, BC | Vernon (BCHL) |
Defence
| 2 | Jérémie Bucheler | R | 6’4 | 205 | 3/31/00 | Saint-Laurent, QC | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 3 | Mason Snell | L | 6’0 | 195 | 6/18/00 | Clarington, ON | Penticton (BCHL) |
| 4 | Jack Judson | R | 6’0 | 175 | 2/26/00 | White Rock, BC | Vernon (BCHL) |
| 5 | Luke Bast | L | 5’9 | 170 | 11/20/00 | Red Deer, AB | Brooks (AJHL) |
| 6 | Carter Berger | L | 6’1 | 200 | 9/17/99 | North Vancouver, BC | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 7 | T.J. Lloyd | R | 5’8 | 179 | 11/15/99 | Lloydminster, AB | Spruce Grove (AJHL) |
| 8 | Layton Ahac | L | 6’3 | 195 | 2/22/01 | North Vancouver, BC | Prince George (BCHL) |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders | |||||||
| 1 | Matthew Davis | R | 5’11 | 173 | 6/16/01 | Calgary, AB | Spruce Grove (AJHL) |
| 31 | Matthew Radomsky | L | 6’2 | 185 | 6/21/99 | Winnipeg, MB | Steinbach (MJHL) |
