Travis Ewanyk of St. Albert was named to Team Canada’s roster for the U18 world championship, starting Thursday in Germany.
The Edmonton Oil Kings’ centre/left winger has previous Hockey Canada experience with Team Pacific at the 2010 World U17 Challenge.
Ewanyk is one of six Western Hockey League players selected to compete at worlds. The U18 line-up is made up of players born in 1993 or earlier from Canadian Hockey League teams that are no longer in the playoffs.
Ewanyk was one of two Oil Kings to play in all 72 games in his second Western Hockey League season. He finished ninth in team scoring with 16 goals and 27 points, and was minus-three with 126 penalty minutes. He also led the Oil Kings in shorthanded goals with four and was the recipient of the team’s unsung hero award.
Ewanyk won over Kevin Prendergast, who was in charge of picking the U18 squad, while shadowing this year’s potential number-one draft pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels, in the opening round playoff series.
Ewanyk, 18, is projected to be a late second-round or third-round pick in the NHL entry draft in June. He was listed 70th among 2011 draft-eligible North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings released in January.
He was the Oil Kings’ third-round (48th overall) selection in the 2008 WHL bantam draft.
St. Albert and Zone 5 ringette products Jillian Basterash, Chelsea Stone and Ashley Peters celebrated a National Ringette League (NRL) championship with the Edmonton WAM! at nationals last Saturday in Cambridge, Ont.
Down by two goals in the final, the WAM! roared back with four unanswered markers to defeat the hometown Cambridge Turbos 4-2. Peters sniped the tying marker and Jen Hartley potted the game winner and later deposited her second goal of the game into an empty net, with assists going to Peters and Stone.
The gold medal was the second in a row for Peters and Stone with the WAM!. It’s also their third season with the WAM! after starting their NRL careers with the Edmonton Edge.
Peters, a member of Team Canada at the 2007 and 2010 worlds, was also named to the tournament’s second all-star team at forward.
The Craig King rink kept its playoff hopes alive at the 48th annual Tournament of Champions in Thursday’s 8-3 triumph in only four ends against the Saville Sports Centre at the Crestwood.
King, third Jamie King (throws skip’s rocks), second Ralph Killips and lead Elson Keown, filling in for Brian Pfeifer will now play the Shamrock at 6 p.m. Monday for a berth in Tuesday’s 8:45 p.m. semifinals. The final is Thursday at 6 p.m.
The six-time reigning St. Albert club champions started the double-knockout draw with a sluggish loss to Ellerslie, but rebounded to defeat Lancaster Park and kept the momentum going against the Saville. A better feel for the tricky ice conditions also played a role in the last two wins.
The King foursome are curling in their eighth Tournament of Champions in 19 years. They won it in 2006 and were the runners-up in 2009. Last year they finished 0-2.
Meanwhile, St. Albert rinks skipped by Kathy Piper and Wilf Gunderson were eliminated from the Edmonton and area club championship after dropping two in a row.
Piper, the defending champion, suffered losses to the Avonair and Jasper Place. After winning the St. Albert club playoffs for the fifth straight year, Piper’s team lost five in a row, including a 0-3 showing at the Dominion Club Championships at the Ottewell.
Gunderson’s mixed line-up went down to defeat against the Crestwood and Lancaster Park after knocking off Doug McLennan, the four-time defending club champion and 2010 Tournament of Champions winner, in Sunday’s playoff tiebreaker in St. Albert.
Ty Lindeman of St. Albert swept the U14 boys’ division playoffs at the Alberta junior badminton championships last weekend in Olds.
In the singles’ final the Grade 8 Lorne Akins student prevailed 21-15, 25-23 against Lucas Parker.
The doubles final was another tough match, as Lindeman and Austin Bauer of Calgary teamed up to defeat Parker and Joshua Kryczka 27-25, 21-17.
In mixed doubles Lindeman and Takeisha Wang of Edmonton combined to beat Nathan Wong and Rosanna Chan 21-8, 21-17.
Lindeman trains at the Royal Glenora Club and was the number-one ranked U14 male in singles, doubles and mixed doubles going into provincials.
On tap next for the U15 singles’ competitor at the 2010 Pan American Junior Championships is nationals at the end of the month in Richmond, B.C.
St. Albert players dominated the final roster selection for the Northwest Sharks at next week’s Alberta Cup.
Making the team were goaltenders J.T. Bartlett and Patrick Gora, defencemen Michael Bruni, Guy Butlin, Zach Gonek and Jake Kohlhauser and forwards Paul Lovsin, Tyler Mrkonjic and Brett Smythe. All the bantam AAA players except Bartlett are St. Albert Sabres. Bartlett played for the Spruce Grove PAC Saints.
The Alberta Cup starts Thursday in Lethbridge. Eight zone teams will play in the four-day tournament format while also taking part in an education seminar put on by the Western Hockey League.
The Alberta Cup is the premier event in the province that helps identify the top male players in Alberta. It is well attended by scouts as they prepare for the Western Hockey League’s bantam draft. In addition to player evaluations, the competition is also an opportunity for administrators, coaches, trainers and officials to be evaluated for future positions with the Team Alberta program.
The Alberta Cup tryouts begin in March each year with more than 1,000 players at their respective zone camps. The 160 players at the Alberta Cup are competing for one of 80 invites to the U16 provincial camp in July.
