Can’t be in Victoriaville and Drummondville to watch Atlantic, Finland, Ontario, Pacific, Quebec, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, the United States and West go for gold at the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge? No problem! Thanks to Hockey Canada and FASTHockey, fans across Canada and around the world can watch the action for free from the comfort of their homes!

Every game (except the gold medal game, which will be broadcast on TSN/RDS) will be available via webcast for free, as long as fans follow three easy steps:

STEP 1: Visit hockeycanada.fasthockey.com and sign up for a free FASTHockey account.

STEP 2: Like the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge on Facebook at www.facebook.com/worldu17.  

STEP 3: When it's game time, click the HC on FASTHockey link on the U17 Facebook page and enjoy!

FASTHockey now delivers video to most iOS/Android mobile devices and tablets. Simply go to hockeycanada.fasthockey.com using your device and you will automatically be redirected to the mobile web site.

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge brings together the top players in the world born in 1996 or later. The under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

Nineteen of the 23 players who were selected for Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship played at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and alumni of the tournament include past NHL first-overall picks Marc-André Fleury, Taylor Hall, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Alexander Ovechkin, John Tavares and Joe Thornton.

Who will take home gold this year? Watch the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge on FASTHockey and find out!

If Corey McNabb wanted to coach elite level cricket, he wouldn’t know where to begin.

“I don’t even know what the bat is called, or the stick, or whatever you use,” he said with a chuckle. “I would have no idea how … to teach kids."

So what would help Hockey Canada’s senior manager of coaching and playing development instruct athletes in a sport he doesn’t know much about?

An interactive digital resource for coaches that includes printable drill diagrams, accompanying descriptions, and videos demonstrating exactly how those drills are done, would certainly be a good place for him to start.

Replace the cricket pitch with a hockey rink, and that’s exactly what McNabb and his staff have created to help coaches across the country prepare players who are Peewee age or older for elite level hockey – which could include participation in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, celebrating three decades of on-ice success this year.

From the pitch to the rink, and everywhere in between, he said there’s nothing else quite like the new Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Drills and Videos DVD available in the sports world. Not unlike the Team Canada Skills of Gold video series that came before it, this special multimedia coaching tool shows, once again, that Hockey Canada is at the forefront of sport development.

“The Program of Excellence DVD is bar none, the best resource in the world for teaching,” McNabb said of the brand new resource for hockey coaches, now available for $39.95 online right HERE on Hockey Canada’s website.

“It’s different than a traditional DVD because … we designed it all in Flash, which makes it much more user-friendly,” he said. “It’s the only one that really combines manual, which is the actual drill and the description, with video.”

In addition to about 140 video drill demonstrations, the DVD features 180 drill diagrams, more than 50 different skill concepts, 15 set practice plans and the ability for coaches to mix-and-match all of that material to create upwards of 60 different practice progressions for their teams.

McNabb’s favourite features are that you can access the matching video by clicking your mouse directly on the drill diagram, and “the fact that you can print off the practice plans and take them to the rink with you.”

Perhaps one of the DVD’s top selling point is that its “designed right after the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence manual,” which means its jam-packed with knowledge from many of the country’s top hockey minds.

“Tom Renney, Mike Johnston, Mike Babcock, Ken Hitchcock, Brent Sutter – all the guys who have coached in that program before, we’ve collected drills and concepts (from),” he said. “They’ve basically said, ‘This is what players should know.’ ”

In fact, it’s what Canadian players NEED to know if they want to fulfil their dreams of representing their country on the ice, McNabb said. That includes players such as Emerance Maschmeyer, who won a gold medal with Canada at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in the Czech Republic, and is featured on the DVD demonstrating Program of Excellence goaltending skills.

Young up-and-comers such as the Western Hockey League’s Troy Bourke of the Prince George Cougars and Colin Smith of the Kamloops Blazers also perform drill demonstrations featured on the DVD’s video clips, which were filmed over the course of three summers at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

Ultimately, the goal is to get the DVD filled with skills and drills into the hands of as many coaches as possible across the country, McNabb said, so that each and every Canadian player can be at their best – including those who will one day wear a maple leaf on their jerseys.

“It’s really trying to provide some standard of play, skill and understanding, as far as what coaches are teaching and players are learning,” McNabb said. “Too many times some of our high performance materials only get into the hands of the coaches and players once they actually get to the high performance level. This is all about preparing them in order to get there.”

Its consistency at the grassroots level across the country that will result in Canadian gold medals on international ice, McNabb said, adding the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Drills and Videos DVD is the best way for coaches to tap into the incredible potential of their players.

“It’s one-stop shopping,” he said. “This is the only thing you need; it’s got everything you want.”

Order your copy at www.HockeyCanada.ca/Breakaway today.

WINDSOR, Ont. – For the first time since 2000, Russia has won the gold medal at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, defeating the United States 7-4 in Wednesday night’s gold medal game at the WFCU Centre in Windsor.

Sergei Tolchinski scored a hat trick to lead the offence, including a shorthanded penalty shot goal early in the third period to make it a 4-2 game. It’s the second year in a row the Americans have allowed a penalty shot goal in the third period of the gold medal game.

Valeri Nichushkin added two goals and an assist for the Russians, while Nikita Serebryakov finished with 45 saves to record his second win of the tournament against the Americans. Serebryakov stopped 96 of 102 shots in his two wins over the U.S.; he had 51 saves in a 3-2 victory during the preliminary round.

Nikita Cherepanov and captain Ivan Barbashev also scored for Russia, which last won the U17 gold medal 12 years ago in Timmins, Ont., when Ilya Kovalchuk led it to a 2-0 gold medal game win over Ontario.

Evan Allen, Will Butcher, J.T. Compher and Anthony Louis scored the goals for the United States, which finished as runner-up for the sixth time; it also won silver in 1994, 1998, 2006, 20.

Earlier Wednesday, Ontario won the bronze medal with a 5-2 win over Sweden. Max Domi scored twice for Ontario to lead a four-goal third period that erased a one-goal deficit after 40 minutes. Bo Horvat, Jordan Subban and Nick Baptiste had the other goals for Ontario, which won a medal for the fifth straight time at the tournament.

Following the gold medal game, the tournament all-star team was announced, as selected by Kevin Prendergast, Hockey Canada’s head scout of the men’s Program of Excellence.

2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge all-star team:

Goaltender: Nikita Serebryakov (Russia)

Defence: Gage Ausmus (United States)

Defence: Darnell Nurse (Ontario)

Forward: J.T. Compher (United States)

Forward: Victor Öhman (Sweden)

Forward: Sergei Tolchinski (Russia)

The 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge brings together the top players in the world born in 1995 or later. The under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

Eighteen of the 22 players who were selected for Canada’s National Junior Team and are currently playing in the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta played at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and alumni of the tournament include past NHL first-overall picks Marc-André Fleury, Taylor Hall, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Alexander Ovechkin, John Tavares and Joe Thornton.

For more information on the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca/wu17, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/worldu17 or www.twitter.com/hc_wu17.

WINDSOR, Ont. – After posting semifinal wins Tuesday, the United States and Russia will meet in the gold medal game at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge on Wednesday night. The puck will drop at the WFCU Centre in Windsor at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT; the game can be seen on TSN on tape delay, beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.

The U.S. knocked off Sweden 2-1 in a shootout in the early semifinal, while Russia ended Ontario’s chances for back-to-back gold medals with a 4-3 overtime win in the late game.

The Americans will be looking for their fourth gold medal, having won the top prize in 2001, 20, while the Russians have won gold on one previous occasion, in 2000, although the Soviet Union won the gold medal in 1988.

In the early game, Evan Allen and Anthony Louis scored in the shootout for the Americans, while goaltender Thatcher Demko stopped both Swedish shooters he faced as the U.S. advanced to the gold medal game for the fifth time in the last six U17 tournaments; it won the top prize in 2010, beating Ontario, but lost to Quebec in 2006 and Ontario in 2008 and last year. Michael McCarron scored the lone goal in regulation time for the U.S., while Leon Bristedt had the only goal for the Swedes.

In the late semifinal, Grigori Dikushin tied the game late in the third period and scored the winner 8:27 into overtime to send the Russians to the gold medal game for the first time since winning their lone gold in 2000. Hunter Garlent finished with a goal and two assists for Ontario, which was trying to advance to the gold medal game for the fifth year in a row.

Ontario and Sweden will meet on Wednesday afternoon (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT) in the bronze medal game, which will be available via webcast through FASTHockey at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com. Fans can watch all the action for free by following three steps:

STEP 1: Visit hockeycanada.fasthockey.com and sign up for a free FASTHockey account. 
STEP 2: Like the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge on Facebook at www.facebook.com/worldu17. 
STEP 3: Just prior to the game, click the HC on FASTHockey link on the U17 Facebook page to watch.

In other action Tuesday:

Fifth-place game at LaSalle, Ont. – Pacific 5, Quebec 4 (OT)

Seventh-place game at Tecumseh, Ont. – Atlantic 4, Czech Republic 2

Ninth-place game at LaSalle, Ont. – Germany 6, West 3

The 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge brings together the top players in the world born in 1995 or later. The under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

Eighteen of the 22 players who were selected for Canada’s National Junior Team and are currently playing in the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta played at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and alumni of the tournament include past NHL first-overall picks Marc-André Fleury, Taylor Hall, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Alexander Ovechkin, John Tavares and Joe Thornton.

For more information on the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca/wu17, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/worldu17 or www.twitter.com/hc_wu17.

GROUP A

IF PACIFIC AND RUSSIA WIN IN REGULATION:

IF PACIFIC AND WEST WIN IN REGULATION:

IF PACIFIC WINS IN REGULATION AND RUSSIA WINS IN OVERTIME:

IF PACIFIC WINS IN REGULATION AND WEST WINS IN OVERTIME:

IF PACIFIC WINS IN OVERTIME AND RUSSIA WINS IN REGULATION:

IF UNITED STATES WINS IN OVERTIME AND RUSSIA WINS IN REGULATION:

IF PACIFIC AND RUSSIA WIN IN OVERTIME:IF PACIFIC AND WEST WIN IN OVERTIME:

IF UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA WIN IN OVERTIME:

1. Pacific 

2. Russia 

3. United States 

IF UNITED STATES AND WEST WIN IN REGULATION:

IF UNITED STATES WINS IN REGULATION AND RUSSIA WINS IN OVERTIME:

IF UNITED STATES WINS IN REGULATION AND WEST WINS IN OVERTIME:

1. United States

2. Pacific 

3. Russia 

---

IF PACIFIC WINS IN OVERTIME AND WEST WINS IN REGULATION:

IF UNITED STATES WINS IN OVERTIME AND WEST WINS IN REGULATION:

IF UNITED STATES AND WEST WIN IN OVERTIME:

1. Pacific 

2. United States 

3. Russia 

---

IF UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA WIN IN REGULATION:

T1. Pacific 
T1. United States 
T1. Russia 

* in this scenario, goal difference in direct games between the three teams would be the first tiebreaker (entering Monday, Pacific is +1, Russia is 0, United States is -1); if U.S. wins by one goal, highest goals for in direct games between the three teams would be the next tiebreaker (entering Monday, Russia is 6, Pacific is 4, United States is 2) 

---
 

GROUP B

IF ONTARIO AND SWEDEN WIN IN REGULATION:
IF ONTARIO WINS IN REGULATION AND SWEDEN WINS IN OVERTIME:
IF ONTARIO WINS IN REGULATION AND ATLANTIC WINS IN OVERTIME:
IF ONTARIO WINS IN OVERTIME AND SWEDEN WINS IN REGULATION:
IF QUEBEC WINS IN OVERTIME AND SWEDEN WINS IN REGULATION:
IF ONTARIO AND SWEDEN WIN IN OVERTIME:IF ONTARIO AND ATLANTIC WIN IN OVERTIME:
IF QUEBEC AND SWEDEN WIN IN OVERTIME:

1. Ontario
2. Sweden
3. Quebec
4. Atlantic

---

IF QUEBEC AND SWEDEN WIN IN REGULATION:
T1. Ontario
T1. Quebec
T1. Sweden
4. Atlantic

* in this scenario, goal difference in direct games between the three teams tied would be the tiebreaker (entering Monday, Ontario is +5, Sweden is -1, Quebec is -4); if two teams remain tied, the head-to-head game between the two would then be used to break the tie. 

---

IF ONTARIO AND ATLANTIC WIN IN REGULATION:

1. Ontario
T2. Sweden
T2. Quebec
T2. Atlantic

* in this scenario, goal difference in direct games between the three teams tied for second would be the tiebreaker (entering Monday, Sweden is +4, Quebec is +3, Atlantic is -1); if two teams remain tied, the head-to-head game between the two would then be used to break the tie. 

---

IF QUEBEC AND ATLANTIC WIN IN REGULATION:

1. Quebec
2. Ontario
3. Atlantic
4. Sweden

---

IF QUEBEC WINS IN REGULATION AND SWEDEN WINS IN OVERTIME:
IF QUEBEC WINS IN REGULATION AND ATLANTIC WINS IN OVERTIME:

1. Quebec
2. Ontario
3. Sweden
4. Atlantic

---

IF ONTARIO WINS IN OVERTIME AND ATLANTIC WINS IN REGULATION:
IF QUEBEC WINS IN OVERTIME AND ATLANTIC WINS IN REGULATION:

1. Ontario
2. Quebec
3. Atlantic
4. Sweden

---

IF QUEBEC AND ATLANTIC WIN IN OVERTIME:

1. Ontario
2. Quebec
3. Sweden
4. Atlantic

WINDSOR, Ont. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced Tuesday the game schedule for the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, scheduled for Dec. 29 to Jan. 4 in Windsor, LaSalle and Tecumseh, Ont.

The 27-game tournament will be centred out of the WFCU Centre, home of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, but will feature games at the Vollmer Culture & Recreation Complex in LaSalle and at Tecumseh Arena. In addition, two communities, Amherstburg and Essex, will host pre-competition games along with the three tournament venues.

aThe gold medal game will be held Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. ET and will be shown on TSN/RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters. All other games at the tournament, including both semifinals and the bronze medal game, will be available through FASTHockey at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. ET, 10-game facility ticket packages will go on sale to the general public in Windsor, LaSalle and Tecumseh. Fans who purchase their packages by Oct. 31 will receive the early bird price of $155 in Windsor and $136 in LaSalle and Tecumseh. Package prices will be $186.95 and $166.91, respectively, beginning Nov. 1.

Windsor: one pre-tournament game, five preliminary round games, two semifinals, bronze medal game and gold medal game.

LaSalle: one pre-tournament game, seven preliminary round games, ninth-place game and fifth-place game.

Tecumseh: one pre-tournament game, eight preliminary round games and seventh-place game.www.twitter.com/hc_wu17

In addition, season ticket holders of the Windsor Spitfires and LaSalle Vipers will have the opportunity to purchase ticket packages at a preferred price of $124 for Spitfires season ticket holders in Windsor and $112 for Vipers season ticket holders in LaSalle and Tecumseh.

Also available are group tickets for all pre-tournament and preliminary round games. Tickets are $15.99 each with the purchase of 20-39, and $15 each with the purchase of 40 or more.

The 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will bring together the top players in the world born in 1995 or later. The regional under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

Since the first World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (then known as the Quebec Esso Cup) in 1986, more than 1,100 NHL draft picks have played in the tournament, including nine of the last 11 first-overall selections (Ilya Kovalchuk, 2001; Rick Nash, 2002; Marc-André Fleury, 2003; Alexander Ovechkin, 2004; Erik Johnson, 2006; Patrick Kane, 2007; John Tavares, 2009; Taylor Hall, 2010; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2011).

For more information on the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca/wu17, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/worldu17 or www.twitter.com/hc_wu17.

CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Ontario Hockey Federation, announced Wednesday that Windsor, Ont., will host the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge from to . This will mark the sixth time in the 26-year history of the tournament that it will be held in Ontario.

The 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will follow the same format as previous years – five Canadian entries (Atlantic, Ontario, Pacific, Quebec, West) will be joined by five international teams, with two groups of five teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, while the remaining three teams from each group will cross over for placement games.

The 27-game tournament will be centered out of the WFCU Centre, home of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, but will feature games in partner venues. The tournament host committee is currently working with communities in the Windsor area to determine which will host satellite games. The Windsor region has successfully hosted a number of hockey events, including the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, OHL All-Star Game and CHL Subway Super Series.

Ticket information for the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will be released later in the summer.

“The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, as the first step of the Program of Excellence, is one of Hockey Canada’s most important events,” says Bob Nicholson, president and CEO of Hockey Canada. “We have no doubt Windsor will do a first-class job in hosting the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2012.”

Hockey Canada originally awarded the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, along with the 2011 tournament, to Winnipeg, Man., in October 2009. The 2011 tournament was a tremendous success, setting a record for single-game attendance with 12,060 at the MTS Centre for the gold medal game. However, with the recent awarding of an NHL franchise to the City of Winnipeg and True North Sports and Entertainment, Hockey Canada and True North mutually agreed for True North to put its focus on the return of the Jets and made the decision to relocate the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Windsor joins Sudbury (1992), Kitchener (1998), Timmins (2000, 2010) and London (2008) as Ontario host cities for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Since the first World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (then known as the Quebec Esso Cup) in 1986, more than 1,100 NHL draft picks have played in the tournament, including nine of the last 11 first-overall selections (Ilya Kovalchuk, 2001; Rick Nash, 2002; Marc-André Fleury, 2003; Alexander Ovechkin, 2004; Erik Johnson, 2006; Patrick Kane, 2007; John Tavares, 2009; Taylor Hall, 2010; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2011).

The 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will bring together the top players in the world born in 1995 or later. The regional under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

Playing on the world stage can be nerve-racking for even the most seasoned of hockey players.  But for 16-year-olds Steven Hodges and Landon Peel, it’s something they’re getting used to.

Selected to play in the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge – Hodges for Pacific, Peel for West – the two certainly aren’t strangers to high-level hockey of an international flavor

In July 2009, both took part in the IIHF Development Camp, a seven-day camp in Vierumäki, Finland, that featured more than 400 players from 56 countries, including non-traditional hockey nations like Romania, Mexico, Estonia, Spain, India and New Zealand. The camp focused on skill development, encouragement of fair and honest play, and the promotion of international friendships and relations.

“The experience of going to Finland really helped me as a person, and as a player,” said Peel, who mans the blue line for the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. “I got a lot of different views on my game and the things I do well, and the things I need to work on. I met a lot of different people and hockey players, and know how hockey is played in all those different countries.”

On a team that included players from 17 different countries – Serbia, Slovenia and Luxembourg among them – Peel learned a few new languages and, despite the language barrier, interacted well with his camp mates, including Erlend Lesund, his Norwegian roommate.

“Just being in the same room with him was a great experience,” Peel said of sharing a living space with the Scandinavian. “It’s one thing that I will never forget.”

Hodges, a rookie forward for the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins, is equally fond of his time in Finland.

“It was amazing to meet so many people, it was the experience of a lifetime,” said Hodges. “My biggest take away was just how cool all the other players were.” 

He said that between drills, practices and games, the players would hang out, share stories, and get to know each other. 

“It was such an honor to represent Canada at the camp,” the Chilliwack, B.C., product said. “There’s a lot of great talent, but in most other countries outside North America, hockey isn’t a priority like it is here, so the players don’t develop as quickly. I feel very lucky.”

Hodges also happens to speaks French, which made it easy for him to make new friends at the camp. 

“For some reason, a lot of the guys there spoke French as well – even a guy from Bulgaria – so that made it easy to get to know the guys,” he said.

Two of the three Canadians at camp – Alberta goaltender Troy Tremblay was the other – Hodges and Peel have maintained a friendship, even with close to 2,000 kilometers separating them. 

“Steven was great to go and travel there with,” Peel said. “He is only not a great guy, he is a great hockey player as well,” said Peel. 

“Landon is just a great person,” Hodges said. “He’s super fun to hang out with, and he knows how to have a good time.”

It will be a reunion of sorts for six players when the future of hockey comes to Manitoba over the holiday season for the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie.

Shea Howorko (West), Slater Koekkoek (Ontario), Stefan Matteau (U.S.), Liam O’Brien (Atlantic), Morgan Rielly (Pacific) and Andrew Ryan (Atlantic) all helped the Notre Dame Hounds win a second-consecutive TELUS Cup as national Midget champions last April in Lévis, Que., and turn their attention now to winning U17 gold. 

Shea Howorko (West), Slater Koekkoek (Ontario), Stefan Matteau (U.S.), Liam O'Brien (Atlantic), Morgan Rielly (Pacific) and Andrew Ryan (Atlantic) all helped the Notre Dame Hounds win a second-consecutive TELUS Cup as national Midget champions last April in Lévis, Que., and turn their attention now to winning U17 gold. 

Rielly and Koekkoek, both of whom were top 10 picks in their respective Major Junior drafts – Rielly went second overall to Moose Jaw (WHL) in 2009, while Koekkoek was the seventh selection by Peterborough (OHL) in 2010 – spent the 2009-10 school year as roommates, but now will go head-to-head, not that it bothers Koekkoek. 

"It'll be great to see each other out there," says the blue liner, who took home MVP and Top Defenceman honours from the TELUS Cup. "Obviously you can't be best friends on the ice, but it'll be fun. Morgan and I talk almost every day about our seasons and the tournament."   2011 marks the second year in a row the Hounds will be well-represented at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Last year, in Timmins, Ont., four players – Brent Benson (West), Zach Hodder (Pacific), Bryce Milson (Atlantic) and Justin Sefton (Ontario) – wore the maple leaf just months after leading Notre Dame to its first TELUS Cup championship since 1986.

With two TELUS Cup championships in a row and 10 players selected for the U17 tournament over the last two years, it's easy to see why Notre Dame is known across the country, and around the world, as a hockey factory. 

The Wilcox, Sask., school has won provincial and national championships at all levels of minor, Junior A, and female hockey while producing players who gave gone on to success at all levels, from the NHL to the international game, players like Vincent Lecavalier, Wendel Clark, Brad Richards and Jordan Eberle. But the experience isn't limited to the players. Coaches at the school are educators with valuable experience in the sport as well.           

Del Pedrick, Notre Dame's director of hockey development, and the head coach of the back-to-back TELUS Cup championship teams, has an extensive career in coaching, including stints in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, North American Hockey League and Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, and at the Canada Winter Games and World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. 

"There's a lot of positive development at Notre Dame and the student athletes are committed to progress," says Pedrick. "We have a confined atmosphere, everything is under one roof, and there's a lot of adult influence." 

The school's campus offers an Olympic-size indoor rink that all Notre Dame teams – from Bantam to Junior A – play on, along with personal trainers, a university-level weight and cardio training centre, and a fully equipped gymnasium. 

"They work you really hard," Koekkoek says. "They really push you at Notre Dame to be your best and it shows." 

There will be no shortage of under-17 alumni when Canada’s top junior-aged players hit the ice on December 12 for the start of the National Junior Team selection camp in Toronto.

Of the 39 players named to camp, 30 wore the red and white of Team Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, including all four goaltenders and 11 of the 12 defencemen. Included on the list are 15 players from the 2008 tournament in London, Ont., 13 from the 2009 event in Port Alberni, B.C. and three that saw action just last year in Timmins, Ont.

One player, defenceman Brandon Gormley, took part in a pair of U17 tournaments, playing for Atlantic in 20.

UNDER-17 ALUMNI AT NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM SELECTION CAMP

Goaltenders

JP Anderson 2009 – Ontario

Calvin Pickard 2009 – West

Olivier Roy 2008 – Quebec

Mark Visentin 2009 – Ontario

Defencemen

Tyson Barrie 2008 – Pacific

Jared Cowen 2008 – West

Simon Després 2008 – Quebec

Ryan Ellis 2008 – Ontario

Brandon Gormley 2008, 2009 – Atlantic

Erik Gudbranson 2009 – Ontario

Brayden McNabb 2008 – West

Ryan Murphy 2010 – Ontario

Ryan Murray 2010 – West

Dylan Olsen 2008 – Pacific

Mark Pysyk 2009 – Pacific

Forwards

Carter Ashton 2008 – West

Michaël Bournival 2009 – Quebec

Casey Cizikas 2008 – Ontario

Brett Connolly 2009 – Pacific

Sean Couturier 2009 – Atlantic

Brendan Gallagher 2009 – Pacific

Joey Hishon 2008 – Ontario

Quinton Howden 2009 – West

Ryan Howse 2008 – Pacific

Zack Kassian 2008 – Ontario

Louis Leblanc 2008 – Quebec

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2010 – Pacific

Brad Ross 2009 – Pacific

Jaden Schwartz 2009 – West

Linden Vey 2008 – West