(Ben Danford)
Three local players are among 100 invited by Hockey Canada to attend their National Under-17 Development Camp in Calgary next month.
Defenceman Benjamin Danford of Madoc and Braedyn Rogers from Belleville will be joined by forward Christopher Brown from Tweed.
Danford was a first round pick of the Oshawa Generals in last month’s OHL draft while Rogers was selected in the second round by Owen Sound. Both played for the Quinte AAA Under 16 Red Devils.
Brown was a first round pick of the Soo Greyhounds. He played for the North York Rangers of the GTHL.
In a press release from Hockey Canada director of player personnel Allen Millar said “The national Under-17 development camp is the first stage in introducing these athletes to the Program of Excellence, and it is a great opportunity for them to develop as players and learn what it takes to wear the Maple Leaf. We look forward to enhancing these young players’ ongoing development during this camp and starting the process of building our three national U17 teams for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge this fall.”
Following the camp, players will continue to be evaluated through the early portion of the 2022-23 season before 66 are named to one of three Canadian national teams – Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White – that will compete at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, scheduled for November 5-12 in Langley and Delta, BC.
