A couple of Kelowna Rockets will be wearing the red and white for Team Canada at the upcoming Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Forward Andrew Cristall and defenceman Caden Price have been named to the 23-man roster at the U18 tournament.
Cristall was dominant in his first full season with the Rockets last year, finishing with 69 points (28 goals, 41 assists) in 61 games. On the back end, Price was solid defensively all season long and collected 21 points (two goals, 19 assists) in 47 games. He also led Rocket defencemen with a +24 plus/minus rating.
The two players aren’t the only members from the Rockets that are part of Team Canada. Rockets Head Coach Kris Mallette is serving as an assistant coach for Team Canada while former Rockets goaltender Kelly Guard is the team’s goaltender coach for the tournament.
Marek Rocak, who the Rockets drafted in the 2022 CHL Import Draft, is also playing in the tournament for Team Czechia.
In 30 years of summer U18 competition, Team Canada has 22 gold medals, two silver, and one bronze.
The 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup is being held from July 31 to Aug. 6 in Red Deer, Alberta. It’s the first time the tournament has been in Canada since Red Deer and Edmonton co-hosted the event in 2018.
Team Canada opens the tournament on July 31 at 6p.m. against Switzerland.
READ MORE: B.C. Sports Hall of Fame annual summit coming to Kelowna
READ MORE: ‘Let’s go get ‘em’: Kelowna cracking down on boat tour operators without dock licence
@cunninghamjordy
jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.