The Sunshine Coast’s Kolton Cousins has made the 2016 Male U16 Team BC Roster.
Kolton will join 19 other players selected to play for Team BC at the 2016 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup, BC Hockey announced on Oct. 4.
The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup takes place from Oct. 18 to 23 at WinSport in Calgary. Team BC will take on Team Alberta, Team Saskatchewan and Team Manitoba.
“On behalf of the Team BC staff, we are excited about this group of young men selected to play for Team BC at the 2016 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup,” Team BC’s director of operations Derek Cranfield said. “The team has a good mix of hockey smarts, skills, size and speed – all traits Team BC needs to perform at this tournament. The entire group is honoured to represent B.C. and BC Hockey and are looking forward to working together to have a great tournament.”
Team BC kicks off the 2016 Western Canada Challenge Cup on Wednesday, Oct. 19, against Team Manitoba. The home team plays Saskatchewan on Thursday, Oct. 20 and Alberta on Friday, Oct. 21. The tournament wraps up on Sunday, Oct. 23 with the bronze and gold medal matchups.
The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup features the highest rated players in the U16 age category representing the four western provinces of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The four-team round robin format is the first step in the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence and assists the four western provincial hockey branches in evaluating the top prospects in this age group for future high performance programs.
The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup is made possible through financial support provided by the Western Hockey League (WHL). The majority of players participating in the event were selected in the WHL Bantam Draft in May 2016 and many of these top prospects will play major roles with WHL clubs in the seasons ahead.
Some notable players that have participated as part of Team BC include: Curtis Lazar who now plays for the Ottawa Senators, Morgan Reilly for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Sam Reinhart for the Buffalo Sabres.
For more information about BC Hockey, see the BC Hockey website at www.bchockey.net and keep reading Coast Reporter to follow Kolton’s journey.
