Four Penticton Vees players have been invited to the selection camp for Team Canada West which will compete at the World Junior A Challenge.
Invited to the selection camp, which runs from Dec. 3 to 5 in Calgary, are forwards Massimo Rizzo, David Silye, Cole Shepard and defenceman Mason Snell. Vees equipment manager Brendon Kerr will also be attending the event with Team Canada West.
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Rizzo, from Burnaby, is in his second season with the Vees and first as team captain. The 17-year-old centre has scored three goals and 11 assists since returning to the lineup from an off-season injury that sidelined him for the first 16 games of the 2018-19 BCHL season. Rizzo has suited up at a Team Canada event before, playing for Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge last season.
Related: Rizzo caps Under-17 Hockey Challenge with four points
Shepard, from North Vancouver, will be looking to play in his second international tournament of the season. In November he also participated in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in New Brunswick, recording four assists in six games with Team Canada Red. With the Vees, Shepard has four goals and seven assists in 23 games as a 16-year-old rookie.
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Snell, from Clarington, Ont., is looking to play in this event for the second straight year. Last season Snell was on Team Canada East as he was playing in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. The 18-year-old defenceman has played 26 games with the Vees this season, scoring once with 10 assists.
Silye, from Arnprior, Ont., is in his third BCHL season, but first with the Vees, and currently leads the team in scoring with 13 goals and 25 assists. In his BCHL career, the 19-year-old has played 134 games with 99 career points.
Last season, defenceman Jonny Tychonick and Ryan O’Connell helped Team Canada West to a gold medal at the event, their second in the past three seasons.
The World Junior A Challenge takes place in Bonnyville, Alta. from Dec. 9 to 16.
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