There won’t be any shortage of Penticton Vees representation when the B.C. Hockey League brings its annual Top Prospects Game to the South Okanagan Events Centre next month.
Six members of the Vees will play for the Interior Conference on Jan. 19, as part of BCHL All-Star Weekend.
Co-captain Callum Arnott will be joined by Will Ingemann, Connor MacPherson, Francesco Dell’Elce, Max Heise and Simon Meier as the Vees who are set to suit up in the prospects game.
Those listed by Central Scouting on October’s ‘Players to Watch’ list received automatic entries to the game. Players who have already been drafted and 2003-born athletes who are no longer draft eligible, meanwhile, were not considered.
The draft list ranks Heise and Dell’Elce as ‘C’ skaters, indicating a projected fourth or fifth-round pick at next summer’s NHL Draft in Las Vegas.
MacPherson is ranked as a ‘W’ skater, indicating a sixth or seventh-round pick.
Ingemann, Arnott and Meier, meanwhile, were selected to play in the prospects game following a league-wide vote between coaches and general managers.
Action on the ice, which will feature a showdown between Interior and Coastal conference kicks off at 6 p.m. and tickets can be purchased here.
The BCHL’s Top Prospects Game marks the start of the league’s weekend-long event.
One day later, the league’s brightest stars and alumni will take to Penticton’s outdoor rink next to city hall for a full day of all-star festivities.
Arnott and Ingemann, as well as MacPherson’s brother, Ryan, will represent the Interior Conference on the city’s outdoor rink on Jan. 20.
The first-ever “Frost Fest” winter carnival at Gyro Park is scheduled to run in conjunction with BCHL All-Star Weekend.
READ MORE: Penticton to host winter carnival during All-Star Weekend