Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce the Team Alberta roster for the 2019 U16 Male team that will represent the province at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.
“The depth of hockey talent in this province is significant, which resulted in many difficult decisions for us,” said Head Coach Bobby Fox. “Our staff is excited to work with this group of 20 players moving forward to the Canada Winter Games.”
Players were selected to the shortlist based on their overall play throughout the Team Alberta scouting process, the Alberta Cup in April, and at the U16 Summer Camp in Camrose in July. Eighty players were invited to Camrose, and from the Summer Camp, a shortlist roster was established and monitored in league play during the first months of the 2018-19 season.
Team staff includes: Bobby Fox (head coach), Brandin Cote (associate coach), Jeff Shantz (assistant coach), Alex Mandolidis (video coach), Derek Purfield (goalie coach), Karyn Fanstone (athletic therapist), Dave Campbell (equipment manager), Jamie Porter (head scout), Michael Kraichy (Director of Hockey Operations), Dustin Moore (Assistant Director of Hockey Operations), and Barry Medori (Coach Mentor).
Alberta’s Minor Hockey Associations are well-represented amongst the team, with 13 different associations represented on the roster: Airdrie, Alix, Beaumont, Beiseker, Bonnyville, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Okotoks, St. Albert, and Whitecourt.
Since men’s hockey was first contested at the Canada Winter Games in 1967, Team Alberta owns 10 medals, including gold in 1967, 1975, 1999, and 2003. The U16 Male squad is coming off a silver medal at the most recent games in Prince George in 2015, a team that featured five recent invitees to the 2019 National Junior Team Selection Camp.
The Canada Winter Games run Feb. 15th - March 3rd in Red Deer, with the Men’s Hockey competition set for Feb. 17th-22nd.
The entire Team Alberta U16 Male roster will meet for Christmas Camp in Red Deer on December 19th-21st. The team will host two exhibition games: Wednesday, December 19 at 7:30pm versus the Red Deer Midget AAA Optimist Chiefs, and Friday, December 21 at 2:00pm against the St. Albert Midget AAA Raiders. Both games are at the Enmax Centrium, and are open to the public.
-Submitted by Hockey Alberta