Humboldt Broncos defenceman Oakley McIlwain and forwards Connor Miller and Jacob Strizzi are in Calagry fort the 2024 Junior A World Challenge selection camp (photo courtesy/Marla Possberg)

By Ben Tompkins

World Junior A Challenge

Trio of Broncos begin WJAC selection camp in Calgary

Dec 3, 2024 | 5:28 PM

The rosters have been announced for the Junior A World Challenge selection camp, which is now underway.

Sixty players, 30 from the West and 30 from the East were selected, which includes a handful of Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Players.

In total, six SJHLers arrived in Calgary for the camp on Tuesday, three of which are Humboldt Broncos.

Forwards Jacob Strizzi (’05) and Connor Miller (’06), along with defenceman Oakley McIlwain (’05) will be competing for spots on the Canada West team.

During the camp, players will participate in numerous practices and play a pair of intrasquad games, as management and coaching staffs evaluate who will make the cut.

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The final rosters of both the East and West teams for the challenge will be named on Thursday (Dec. 5).

The tournament itself will begin Monday (Dec. 9) and run until next Sunday (Dec. 15) in Camrose, Alta.

The Canada West team will include players from the SJHL, as well as the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

Meanwhile, Canada East will feature players from the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL), Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec (LHJAAAQ) and Maritime Hockey League (MHL).

The two Canadian squads will each play a pre-tournament game on Saturday (Dec. 7).

Canada West will play the United States at 5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan Time at Co-Op Place in Wetaskiwin, while Canada East will face off against Sweden at the Drumheller Memorial Arena at 4 p.m. Saskatchewan Time.

The puck will drop for the round-robin portion of the tournament two days later, starting with the 2023 silver-medalist Canada East against the United States at 4 p.m. Saskatchewan Time, followed by Canada West, the defending gold medalists, facing Sweden at 8:30 p.m. Saskatchewan Time.

In the Challenge’s 16-year history, a Canadian team has been in the gold medal game 13 times.

Canada East has never captured the gold medal game, whilst Canada West has won the final game on six separate occasions, including most notably, just 12 months ago.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8