Hockey Manitoba is proud to announce the rosters for U-16 Team Manitoba and U-18 Team Manitoba who will compete at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, BC.

After nearly a yearlong process of the Program of Excellence (POE), the selection and development process for Team Manitoba, the final twenty players for each roster have been identified. Each program began last season with invitations selections for the 2014 Manitoba Games that continued with various camps and evaluations until October for the U-18 program and all the way until mid-December for the U-16 program.

U-16 Team Manitoba will feature 15 WHL Draft picks from 2014 including 3 first-round selections; Stelio Mattheos (1st, Brandon Wheat Kings), Josh Brook (4th, Moose Jaw Warriors), and Cody Glass (19th, Portland Winterhawks). The roster also includes a rare under-age selection with Jett Woo born in 2000 being named to the roster after outstanding performances within the POE process and with his Bantam 1 AAA club this season.

Click here for the 2015 Canada Winter Games U-16 Team Manitoba roster

The U-18 roster includes 11 returning players from the 2013 National Women’s U-18 Championship where Team Manitoba finished in 5th place. The roster also includes four players who recently attended the U-18 Team Canada selection camp Dec 10-14 in Hamilton, ON. Randi Marcon (Winnipeg) of the St. Mary’s Academy Flames has been named captain of the team along with Bracken, Oswald, and Hunt as alternate captains.

Click here for the 2015 Canada Winter Games U-18 Team Manitoba roster

Both programs finished 5th at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax. Previously both programs finished 2nd with silver medals at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, YK. Prince George, BC will take centre stage as they welcome the country’s best young developing athletes from February 13 – March 1, 2015. The next generation of national and international champions will compete in 24 selected sports representing the best that their province or territory has to offer. The Canada Games will host similar number of athletes as the Olympic Games, Team Manitoba will be represented by 248 athletes, 72 coaches and managers, and 20 mission staff.

The hockey competition at the Canada Winter Games has seen names such as Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Nathan MacKinnon, Meghan Agosta, Hayley Wickenheiser, Marie-Philip Poulin, and many more players who have gone onto success at the professional and international stages.

For more information about the Hockey Manitoba Program of Excellence and Team Manitoba please visit www.hockeymanitoba.ca/players/poe. Hockey Manitoba is pleased to recognize Canad Inns, Reebok-CCM Hockey, and the Western Hockey League as Official Partners of the Program of Excellence, along with Gatorade as the Official Sport Drink of Hockey Manitoba.