The Canmore Eagles Junior A Hockey club is extremely pleased to announce that forward Ryley Risling and defenceman Griffin Mumby have been selected to play for Team Canada West at the upcoming World Junior A Hockey championships.
The Tournament will be held in Kindersley, Saskatchewan from December 14-20, 2014.
Eagle captain Connor Wilson also enjoyed an excellent camp but just missed making the team’s final roster.
“It’s always an honour to represent your country and to play for Hockey Canada and I couldn’t be prouder of how our three Eagle players performed during the selection camp,” said Eagle’s Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “They all played very well and represented the Canmore Eagles at the highest level. Our goal is to develop young hockey players and give them every opportunity to succeed and all three of them showed very well.”
Risling, who had just 10 points in 30 AJHL games in his rookie season last year, has blossomed into a power forward this year scoring 18 goals and adding 14 assists in just 30 games.
“Ryley had an outstanding camp and certainly made a huge impression with both the coaches and the numerous scouts in the stands,” said Milne of the 6’3, 200 lb Medicine Hat native. “He was strong on the puck, dished out some punishing hits, skated very hard and was good around the net.
“Griffin also had an excellent camp and played his best hockey of the year. He was cool under pressure in his own end, made some very crisp passes and displayed a very hard accurate shot from the point. He proved to the coaches that he was both dependable and consistent.
“Willy also had an excellent camp but Team Canada West can only take five 1995 born players with them and he just fell a little short. They took a 95 goalie, so there were really only four spots available. On the plus side, there were a lot of US College scouts in attendance and he certainly made a very favourable impression with them. He made some great plays. One scout said he had the highest hockey IQ of all the players in attendance, so Willy’s performance will certainly help him in his ultimate goal of securing a coveted NCAA scholarship.”
The Canmore Eagles are extremely proud of all three players. Great job!
NOTEBOOK: Of the 22 players selected to play for Team Canada West, nine players came from both the AJHL and BCHL, three from the SJHL and one from the MJHL