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Hockey Manitoba announces its 2023 Canada Winter Games Rosters

by Ezra Ginsburg  |  November 9, 2022 1:45 pm

Hockey Manitoba is excited to announce the rosters for Female U18 Team Manitoba and Male U16 Team Manitoba who will compete at the 2023 Canada Winter Games from February 18th to March 5, 2023, in Prince Edward Island.

The Male U16 Program of Excellence process began in early April 2022 with the Spring Selection Camp which was held in Niverville, MB. Following the Spring Selection Camp, forty players were invited to the POE Top-40 Camp which was held from May 5-8, 2022 in Portage la Prairie. The third phase of the Male U16 POE selection process was a Summer Camp which was held from July 19-23 2022 at Seven Oaks Arena in Winnipeg and the fourth phase was an exhibition game versus the Winnipeg Wild U18 AAA on Sunday October 2, 2022 at Bell MTS Iceplex.

Male U16 Team Manitoba will be led by Winnipeg ICE Assistant Coach Taras McEwen (Winnipeg) who will be attending his first Canada Winter Games as a coach with Team Manitoba. Filling out the coaching staff is Devin Himpe of the University of Manitoba Bisons (Dauphin) and Ian Duval (Winnipeg) of the RHA National U15 Prep team who will be attending their first Canada Games as coaches for Team Manitoba. Support staff are goaltending coach Byron Spriggs (Winnipeg), equipment manager CJ Butcher (Stonewall), athletic therapist Brenna Cyr (Sekirk) and video coordinator Nick Trudel (Selkirk).

“We’re very proud of our team. We really like the speed and skill we have in our line-up and our goaltending is very strong so we’re really excited about this group heading into the Canada Games,” said Taras McEwen, Head Coach of Male U16 Team Manitoba. “It’s an honour to represent your province and this will truly be a unique experience for our players and staff so we can’t wait to get there and compete for a gold medal.”

U16 Team Manitoba will travel to Saskatoon to compete in a pair of exhibition games against U16 Team Saskatchewan from December 20-22, 2022. The final U16 Team Manitoba roster will compete at the 2023 Canada Winter Games which is scheduled to take place from February 18th to February 26th, 2023, in Prince Edward Island.

The Female U18 POE process began with a Top-68 Camp at Bell MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg in early June 2022, which was followed by forty players being invited to the Female U18 POE Top-40 Camp which was held from July 22-24, 2022 at Bel MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg. Following the Top-40 Camp, 26 players were invited to the Female U18 POE Summer Development Camp which was held from August 26-28. Those players then played in an exhibition series which was held from September 23-25, 2022 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Female U18 Team Manitoba will be led by Winnipeg Avros U18 AAA Head Coach Ashley van Aggelen (Winnipeg) who will be attending her fourth Canada Winter Games as a coach with Team Manitoba. Filling out the coaching staff is Maddie Litchfield-Medd of the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy (Winnipeg), who will be attending her first Canada Games as a coach and Brandon Wheat Kings U15 AAA Head Coach Karissa Kirkup (Virden) who will be attending her first Canada Games as well. Support staff are goaltending consultant Cassandra Groen (Brandon), athletic therapist Jennifer Seekings (Winnipeg) and video coordinator Tess Houston (Winnipeg).

“Throughout this process we have been thrilled with the talent level that we have with our 2006-2005 female athletes,” said U18 Team Manitoba Head Coach Ashley van Aggelen. “We have a great group with a number of returning players, a mobile defence group and some elite offensive talent. Most importantly, it is a great group of kids that have been a pleasure to coach. Our coaching staff are excited to see what this group can do at the national level and look forward to heading to PEI in February.”

The final Female U18 POE roster will compete at the 2023 Canada Winter Games which is scheduled to take place from February 26 to March 5, 2023 in Prince Edward Island.

About the Program of Excellence

The Female U18 Program of Excellence is designed to provide high performance female players with the opportunity to develop advanced skills as well as an introduction to the concepts needed to play at an elite level. Players from the Program of Excellence go on to play at the CIS, NCAA and International level.

The Male U16 Program of Excellence is the first step in the Hockey Canada Male Program of Excellence. Athletes who participate in the U16 POE begin to receive the exposure to skills and concepts that are vital for success at the Major Junior, NCAA, USport and National levels. Many athletes from the U16 Program of Excellence go on to success with the U17, U18 and World Junior Teams as a part of the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence.

Hockey Manitoba is pleased to recognize CCM Hockey as an Official Partner of the Program of Excellence, along with Gatorade as the Official Sport Drink of Hockey Manitoba. The POE is our high performance program that offers developing athletes who are on track to be elite with the opportunity to represent their province while providing a solid development path to the National and International stages.

For more information about the Hockey Manitoba Program of Excellence please visit www.hockeymanitoba.ca/programs/poe/.


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