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17 Battlefords players invited to Sask First tournament

Feb 15, 2017 | 1:00 PM

Twelve female and five male players from Battlefords teams were invited to the first set of Sask First tournaments after attending regional camps in early February.

Sask First is a series of camps and tournaments for midget and bantam aged players that the Saskatchewan Hockey Association runs. This invite is the first step in making one of three provincial teams, which are male U-16, female U-16 and female U-18. The male midget division has camps and tournaments, but does not form a team to compete nationally.

Leading the way for invites on the girls side are nine members of the Battlefords Sharks AAA midget team.

Both goaltenders, Chloe Burt and Chantel Weller, along with players Jessie Herner, Ryleigh White, and Ashlee Wolfe will attend the U-16 female camp, while Ali Aitken, Keara Amson, Ensley Fendelet, and Alyssa Roach, were invited to the U-18 camp.

The Sharks AA female midget team also received three invites.

Jordyn Blais, Kennedy Larre, and Ryder Milne were all invited to the U-16 camp.

The U-16 female tournament will include a total of 136 players separated into eight teams of 17 players each. Eventually, one team will be formed, which will compete at a AAA midget showcase in the fall.

The U-18 female camp involves 80 total players separated into four teams of 20 each. That will eventually be dwindled down to one provincial team which will compete at the nationals in Quebec City.

Both female camps will run from April 6 to 9 at the Cooperators Centre in Regina.

On the boys side, four members of the midget AA Barons were selected, while one player from the bantam AA Barons was as well.

Luke Fennig, Kolby Heidt, Carson McNabb, and Kody Wolff will take part in the midget camp while Ashton Harris, who has also been called up for four games with the midget team, will take part in the bantam camp.

The four midget Barons are joined by 156 other players that will take part in the tournament. They have been separated into eight teams of 20 players each.

The midget camp does not end up selecting a team that competes in other provinces. Rather, it ends in a showcase in the fall.

But Harris, a 2002-born forward from Maymont, will have a shot at making the male provincial team that competes in the Western U-16 Challenge Cup every fall. Last year, Luke Reid of the AAA Stars made that team, while Adam Beckman and goaltender Joseph Young made it to the final round of cuts.

This is the first step for Harris, as the bantam tournament will be followed by major cuts. The number of players will go from 160 to 40. Those 40 players will then attend a summer camp, followed by a fall camp, which eventually results in a final team of 20.

The midget male Sask First tournament will run from March 30 until April 2, while the bantam camp will run from April 14 to 16. Both will take place at the Cooperators Centre in Regina.

 

Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11