Lethbridge Hurricanes Defenceman Ryan Pilon and 2011 2nd round draft pick Kolten Olynek have been chosen to represent Team West at the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Quebec next month.
Hockey Manitoba and the Saskatchewan Hockey Association named their 22 man roster Tuesday and as a way of raising the productivity of the under-17 program, the Team West roster consists of the top 22 players recognized to be the best in the region, regardless of their home province.
Pilon, the Hurricanes 1st round (3rd overall) draft pick in 2011 has played in 15 games for the Canes this season and he has 8 points (2G, 6A) and a plus-5 plus/minus rating. Olynek plays for the Saskatoon Contacts and leads the Saskatchewan Midget Triple A Hockey League with 29 points (13G, 16A) in just 14 games. Both Pilon and Olynek will be joined at the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge by Reid Duke who was named to Team Pacific last week. All three Hurricanes follow in the footsteps of Jay Merkley and Macoy Erkamps who suited up for Team Pacific last year while Craig Leverton and Remi Laurencelle were part of Team West. Pilon who is from Duck Lake, SK, has also represented Canada on the international stage as he was named to Team Canada that competed at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
Team West will be competing in Group A with Team Pacific, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Group B will comprise of Slovakia, the United States, Ontario, Team Atlantic and Quebec.
(From Esther Madziya, Hurricanes Media Relations)
Thanks,
Pat
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OK so 2 out of my 3 picks made Team West. I hoped that all 3 of the Canes players/prospects I had mentioned on this blog earlier would have made team West. As Colt Conrad is only a 15 year old, he was a bit of a long shot.
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at the D-men on Team West, you gotta figure Pilon is going to get a lot of ice time. Of the 7 D-men on the team, only 4 are from the WHL; the other 3 are from Midget or from the MJHL.
Pilon is heads and tails better than the rest of the D-men on the roster. The Canes will have to do with out Pilon's services for a few games, but he will have an enourmous impact on team West.
Look for Pilon to have the "C" for this team, and lead them as best as he can.
canesrock