Last Thursday, a few local athletes were shortlisted for a chance to make the Under-16 Male team that will represent the province at the WHL Cup in October.

There are 32 athletes in contention to compete at the tournament. The shortlist includes four goaltenders, 10 defence and 18 forwards.

Athletes were chosen for the shortlist based on their performance overall during the Team Alberta scouting process, in previous Team Alberta programs, and at the Under-16 Summer Camp in Red Deer, which took place from July 3 to July 9. Eighty players were invited to Red Deer, where they participated in rigorous on-ice workouts, off-ice training, and classroom exercises.

Here are the local athletes that made the list:

  • Dermot Johnston - Olds

  • Benett Kelly - Cochrane

  • Aaron Sawatzky - Didsbury

  • Riley Boychuk - Cochrane

  • Caelan Joudrey - Airdrie

All of these athletes played with the U15 Airdrie Xtreme this past season and won the provincial championship.

“Alberta has a lot of talented players in this age group, we saw it at the Alberta Cup and we saw it at summer camp,” said James Poole, Head Coach of Team Alberta Under-16 Male. “We’re constructing a team that can compete at an elite level in short-term competition, the decisions don’t get easier and now it’s up to these 32 players to show us why they belong in the jersey.”

Multiple members of the Xtreme were selected in this years Western Hockey League Draft. 

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