Eagle players Ryley Risling (left), Griffin Mumby (right) and captain Connor Wilson have been invited to this weekend’s Canada West Selection camp in preparation for this year’s World Junior A Hockey Championships.
NEXT HOME GAME – Calgary Canucks – Tuesday, December 9, 7 PM
Three Canmore Eagles were among the 19 players selected from the Alberta Junior Hockey League to participate in this weekend’s Canada West Selection Camp which will be held at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.
Captain Connor Wilson (11 goals and 23 assists in 30 games), Ryley Risling (19 goals and 14 assists in 30 games) and defenceman Griffin Mumby (6 goals and 9 assists in 30 games) were chosen to compete against a group of 60 players who were selected from the five Canadian Junior Hockey Leagues operating in Western Canada.
The camp will be used to select the final roster for this year’s Canada West team that will compete against teams from Russia, United States, Denmark, Switzerland, and Canada East at this year's World Junior A Hockey Challenge scheduled for December 14-20 in Kindersley, Saskatchewan.
“It’s a big honour for all three of these players to be invited to the selection camp and they are very deserving of their invitations,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne, who will also be attending the selection camp as an evaluator for Hockey Canada. “All three players have carried a big load for us this year and logged a ton of ice time for us, so I’m glad they have been recognized for their efforts. The competition for a spot on the final roster will be very intense, so they will have to be at their very best to earn a spot. Regardless of the outcome, the overall experience will be very positive for them and I wish them the best of luck.”
Although thrilled that Wilson, Risling and Mumby have been invited to the selection camp, Milne will not have three of his best players in his lineup this weekend when the Eagles travel north to play the Grande Prairie Storm on Saturday night and the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Sunday afternoon.
“Although we would certainly love to have these players in our lineup this weekend, our overall goal is the development of our players and to provide them with every opportunity to use Junior A hockey as a stepping stone to obtain educational scholarship opportunities,” said Milne. “By allowing these three players to compete at the selection camp, they will be one step closer to securing those goals.”
NOTEBOOK: All Eagle fans attending next Tuesday’s home game (Dec. 9) against the Calgary Canucks are asked to please bring a toy/gift for the Bow Valley Christmas Fund. . . .The Eagles stood still during the AJHL trade deadline on December 1 and did not make any trades. The team did however release rookie forward Clay Murray. Murray had one goal in 20 games played.