WINNIPEG, MB- A total of sixty-eight players (68) 1997 born players have been invited to the Team West Summer Camp held August 7-11, 2013 in Portage la Prairie, MB at the PCU Centre. Each province, Manitoba & Saskatchewan, has thirty-four (34) players invited based on previous performances within their respective U-16 Program of Excellence along with the feedback from the team’s head scout based off of the 2012-13 season. Each side will send four (4) goalies, twelve (12) defensemen, and eighteen (18) forwards who will undergo a five-day camp consisting of practices, games, fitness testing and interviews. Later this fall the players will be observed through the early part of the 2013-14 season with their club teams followed by final selections being announced in early November.

Team West will compete at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge held December 28th, 2013 – January 5th, 2014 in Cape Breton, NS. Last season Team West finished 9th at the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge hosted in Victoriaville and Drummondville, Quebec which held eight (8) Manitobans on the final 22-man roster. Manitoba’s contingent of the Team West Summer Camp boasts eight (8) players who skated in the 2013 Manitoba Midget Hockey League (Midget AAA) championship final and eighteen (18) players who were a member of U-16 Team Manitoba.

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To learn more about the U-17 Program of Excellence please visit www.hockeymanitoba.ca/poe.php or www.hockeycanada.ca/wu17.