Hockey Manitoba is pleased and honoured to announce that Justin Verhaeghe has been selected as a linesman for the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, held December 28-January 4th.

Justin is a level 4, and lines CIS, MJHL, KJHL, MMJHL, along with Midget AAA hockey.  He is also a clinic instructor and mentor within the branch.

This year’s tournament will be hosted in Cape Breton & Sydney, Nova Scotia. 

Justin attended the Western Officials Program of Excellence (OPOE) camp as a linesman in 2012, which is a requirement in order to be selected. 

The World U-17 Hockey Challenge is a prestigious international event, hosted by Hockey Canada, and gives many up-and-coming young players the chance to showcase their skills on an international stage for the first time.

Since the first World U-17 Hockey Challenge (then known as the Québec Esso Cup) in 1986, more than 1,100 NHL draft picks have played in the tournament, including nine of the last 10 first-overall selections (Ilya Kovalchuk, 2001; Rick Nash, 2002; Marc-André Fleury, 2003; Alexander Ovechkin, 2004; Erik Johnson, 2006; Patrick Kane, 2007; John Tavares, 2009; Taylor Hall, 2010; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2011).
 
The 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge will bring together the top players in the world born in 1997 or later. The regional U-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

Congratulations to Justin on his selection to this tournament!