Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League prospects will now receive more exposure from scouts through a identification camp while looking to make on of the most prestigious teams available for SJHL players.
The SJHL announced earlier in the week it will conduct a two-day identification camp for prospects of the World Junior A Challenge.
The camp will feature, predominantly, players born in 1994 and 1995, but will also have a select group of 1993 born athletes as well. It is expected scouts from the National Hockey League, Western Hockey League and National Collegiate Athletic Association will be on hand to witness some of the top young talent in the country.
"This is a great opportunity for the top young players in our league to go up against similar players of the same age and it's hoped will provide an easier gauge for evaluators to see how each player has progressed throughout the early part of the season," said SJHL president Bill Chow in the league's press release.
The special showcase will take place Oct. 1 and 2 at the Elgar Petersen Arena in Humboldt.
Each team will likely contribute one defenceman and two forwards, as the players will be divided into two teams and practice twice and play two games.
Humboldt Broncos coach and general manager Dean Brockman was an assistant coach with Canada West last year and will be the head coach this time around.
Canada West combines players from the SJHL, Alberta Junior Hockey League, British Columbia Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the Superior International Hockey League.
The World Junior A Challenge will take place in Yarmouth, N.S. Nov. 5 to 11.
Canada West has won the gold medal three of the six years the tournament has been in existence, finishing as a runner-up on two other occasions.
The tournament features six teams Canada West, Czech Republic, Russia, Canada East, United States and Switzerland.
Last season, Humboldt's Riley Kleser was the lone SJHL player on the roster. The year before that with Larry Wintoneak as the head coach, Kindersley's Sean Flanagan, Yorkton's Clarke Breitkreuz and Weyburn's Drew George played for Canada West.
