Sarnia Sting forward Jamieson Rees is among 44 Canadians invited to the U-18 selection camp in preparation for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
The players will gather in Calgary next month for a chance to wear the maple leaf.
Rees is heading into his second OHL season with the Sting, after tallying 20 points in 46 games played in his rookie campaign.
The invitations have been extended to four goaltenders, 14 defencemen, and 26 forwards who are developing in the CHL and CJHL, including three players who were part of Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team that competed at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship in Russia last April, going undefeated in preliminary-round action (Byram, Lafrenière, Robertson).
“Unlike our other summer camps, these players are part of a selection process from the moment they arrive, and the opportunity is to represent Canada on the world’s stage,” says Scott Salmond, vice-president of hockey operations and national teams for Hockey Canada.
“We have a very talented group of players coming to Calgary in late July, and we will no doubt have some very difficult decisions to make when it’s time to select this year’s Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team. The players are excited to arrive and get started, and they are all coming in with the goal of making our decision a difficult one.”
Canada won last year’s edition of the event in the Czech Republic, besting the host team 4-1, with a squad that included 18 players who were selected in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft over the weekend.
Canada has won gold 21 times in 27 years of summer under-18 competition.
The event is being held in Edmonton and Red Deer in August.