Toews Named to Team Canada West Roster

Devon Toews has been named to the roster for Team Canada West for the upcoming 2012 World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. I had a chance to catch up with Toews on Thursday afternoon to talk about this exciting opportunity.

Here's the full press release on the roster announcement from Hockey Canada:

Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Junior Hockey League, announced Thursday the 22 players that will represent Canada West at the 2012 World Junior A Challenge, Nov. 5-11 in Yarmouth, N.S.

The roster was selected by Canada West head coach Dean Brockman (St. Benedict, Sask./Humboldt, SJHL), along with assistant coaches Jason McKee (Irma, Alta./Spruce Grove, AJHL) and Ryan Smith (Headingley, Man./Selkirk, MJHL) following a four-day selection camp at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CANADA WEST ROSTER FOR THE 2012 WORLD JUNIOR A CHALLENGE

Players named to the Canada West roster were selected from the CJHL’s five western Junior A leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

“As with any Team Canada roster, there were a number of difficult choices to get us to 22 players,” said Brockman. “We’re excited about the roster we’ve put together, and we’re confident this team will represent western Canada with pride in Yarmouth.”

The Canada West roster includes:
· two goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards;
· 15 players from the BCHL, three players from the AJHL, two players from the SJHL and two players from the MJHL;
· five players returning from the 2011 World Junior A Challenge (Hadley, Kerfoot, Morley, Richardson, Stecher);
· two players selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Kerfoot – New Jersey, 5th round, 180th overall; de Haas – Detroit, 6th round, 170th overall.

The 2012 World Junior A Challenge will be held at the Mariners Centre in Yarmouth. Canada West will play in Group A, joined by the Czech Republic and Russia, while Canada East, Switzerland and the United States will comprise Group B.

Preliminary round play will run until Wednesday, Nov. 7, with both semifinals taking place Friday, Nov. 9. The gold medal game, which will be shown nationally on TSN/RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, is set for Sunday, Nov. 11 (check your local listings). All preliminary round games, quarter-finals, semifinals and the bronze medal game can be seen live via webcast through FASTHockey at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.

Fans can now purchase the World Junior A Weekend ticket package, which features six games over the final three days of the 2012 World Junior A Challenge. The package includes both semifinals on Nov. 9, the fifth-place game and bronze medal game on Nov. 10 and the second CJHL Prospects Game and gold medal game on Nov. 11, all at the Mariners Centre. Packages are available for $159, plus service fees.

CLICK HERE for more ticket information, including how to purchase.

Canada West has appeared in five of the six gold medal games at the World Junior A Challenges, winning gold in 2006 in Yorkton, Sask., 2007 in Trail, B.C., and last year in Langley, B.C. It settled for silver in 2008 in Camrose, Alta., and 2009 in Summerside, P.E.I., and finished fourth in 2010 in Penticton, B.C.

For more information on the 2012 World Junior A Challenge, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/wjac, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/wjrac or www.twitter.com/hc_wjac.