November 28, 2016,
Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League are working together and have extended invitations to 100 players across the country to selection camps for the 2016 World Junior A Challenge. The Virden Oil Capitals are proud to announce, forwards Tyler Kirkup and Ben Dalke will be attending the World Junior A Challenge Selection Camp; which was announced late November 24.
Oil Capitals Head Coach, Troy Leslie said, “We are thrilled to have two players picked to go to this camp; being at the camp last year I know that this will be a real positive experience for both players and their development. Ben and Tyler have played well together this year and their contrasting styles complement each other.”
December 3-7, forty players will battle for a spot on Team Canada East roster at selection camp at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke, Ontario. December 5-8, sixty players will play in intraquad games and practices for a spot on the Team Canada West line-up; which the Oil Capitals are proud to have Ben and Tyler selected to battle for a spot.
“Ben, has continued to provide offense for our team coming off his strong rookie season. He is a pure goal scorer that is becoming better every day at playing away from the puck.” Leslie continued, “Tyler plays a complete game which is rare for a player at 18. Night in, night out he does many little things right for us. On the rare occasion that he is not producing offensively, he finds ways to help our team every night.”
Team Canada West is picked from the five western Junior A leagues; 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).
Before the World Junior A Challenge, both Canadian Teams take part in the pre-tournament Friday, December 9; Team Canada West takes on Team United States at the Cold Lake Energy Centre and Team Canada East faces Team Russia at the Clancy Richard Arena. The 2016 World Junior A Challenge; featuring two Canadian teams, and four international occurs, December 11-17 at R.J. Lalonde Arena.