Hockey Canada has selected 24 Ontario Hockey League players to represent Canada at next month's 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and Barrie Colts defenceman Brandt Clarke is among them.
The tournament is set for Nov. 2-9 in Medicine Hat, Alta., and Swift Current, Sask.
Clarke, a 16-year-old native of Nepean, Ont., has five assists in eight games so far this season with the Colts. He was selected fourth overall by Barrie at the OHL Priority Selection in April.
The 66 players will be divided into three teams – Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White – and will compete against the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States in their quest for a gold medal.
The 24 OHL players selected by Hockey Canada consist of 18 forwards, five defencemen and one goaltender.
OHL players on Canadian teams include defencemen Ethan Del Mastro (Mississauga), Isaac Enright (Niagara), Jacob Holmes (Sault Ste. Marie), and Connor Punnett (Saginaw).
Forwards from the OHL include Liam Arnsby (North Bay), J.R. Avon and Mason McTavish (Peterborough), Jack Beck (Ottawa), Ethan Burroughs and Kaleb Lawrence (Owen Sound), Brett Harrison (Oshawa), Wyatt Johnston (Windsor), Braeden Kressler and Brennan Othmann (Flint), Connor Lockhart (Erie), Landon McCallum and Chase Stillman (Sudbury), Max McCue (London), Francesco Pinelli (Kitchener), Ryan Winterton (Hamilton), Shane Wright (Kingston), and Danny Zhilkin (Guelph).
Goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau from the Sarnia Sting was also selected.
In July, 46 OHL players were invited to participate in Canada’s national under-17 development camp and introduced to the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence.
“After a successful development camp with the top young players in the country, there were many difficult decisions made to select the 66 players that will compete at this year’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge,” said head scout Brad McEwen. “We feel this group exemplifies the values of the Program of Excellence and will represent Canada with pride as we compete for a gold medal this November.”
The tournament opens with all three Canadian teams in action Saturday, Nov. 2. Team Canada Red takes on Russia at the Innovation Credit Union iPlex in Swift Current, while Team Canada Black faces off against Team Canada White at the Canalta Centre in Medicine Hat.
