(Source: ojhl.ca)
Fourteen players will represent the Ontario Junior Hockey League on the Team Canada East team playing at the 2017 World Junior A Challenge in Truro, N.S., Dec. 10-16.

OJHL players announced to the team Dec. 5 include both goaltenders, Jett Alexander (North York Rangers) and Noah Battaglia (Milton Icehawks).

Defencemen from the OJHL are: Mason Snell (Wellington Dukes), Joey Maziarz (North York) and a pair of Oakville Blades, Matthew Kellenberger and Jeff Clarke.

The forwards include: Nick Campoli (North York), Colton Kalezic (Toronto Patriots), Anthony Romano (Aurora Tigers), Jack McBain (Toronto Jr. Canadiens), Cobourg Cougars Mac Lowry and Connor MacEachern and Wellington’s Ben Evans and Colin Doyle.

McBain is one of five Team Canada East players who were part of last year’s team that captured silver.

From Dec. 2-5, 40 Team Canada East hopefuls gathered at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke, Ont., for four days of scheduled games and practices as part of the Team Canada East evaluation process.

The players were selected from among the CJHL’s five eastern Junior A leagues: the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL), Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Ligue de hockey junior du Québec (LHJQ), and Maritime Hockey League (MHL). Staff used the camp as a final opportunity to evaluate the prospects before selecting the roster for Team Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge.

Team Canada East, the 2016 silver-medallist, will open this year’s tournament against Russia in prime time on Sunday, Dec. 10, when the World Junior A Challenge returns to Atlantic Canada.

“We’ve seen some great Canadian hockey talent over the four days of camps, and both (Team Canada East and West) teams had difficult decisions to make to pare it down to 22 players per roster,” said Brent Ladds, president of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. “This will be a great event, and the two teams will make Canadians very proud.”

Get tickets at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets, in-person at the RECC, or by calling 1.888.311.9090. An evening-game package, which includes a general admission ticket to all six evening games plus the gold-medal game, is available in limited quantities starting at $99.50.

Other ticket options include single-game tickets, a $25 Day Pass valid for single-day use Dec. 10-14, and a Family Four-Pack for $49.50.

The RECC in Truro will also host two pre-tournament games on Friday, Dec. 8. At 3:30 p.m. AT, the Czech Republic will take on the Truro Bearcats, while Team Canada East will play the United States at 7:30 p.m. that same evening. Team Canada West and Russia will travel to nearby Amherst for a 7:30 p.m. pre-tournament game on Dec. 8 as well as a warm-up to the official puck-drop on the World Junior A Challenge on Dec. 10. Tickets for the pre-tournament games are on sale at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets or at the RECC and Amherst Stadium box offices.

The World Junior A Challenge is made possible thanks to the partnership between Hockey Canada, the CJHL, and NHL Central Scouting, and features two Canadian teams, representing East and West, as well as four international teams vying for a gold medal. Nine of the 11 gold-medal games at the World Junior A Challenge have featured at least one Canadian team. Team Canada West won gold at the first two tournaments, in 2006 and 2007, and also took home gold in 2011 and 2015. The team also won silver medals in 2008, 2009, and 2012, as well as bronze in 2013. Team Canada East won silver medals in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2016, as well as claiming the bronze medal in 2008.

For more information on the World Junior A Challenge, visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow along via social media at Facebook or  Twitter.