Thirty-Two Athletes named to Team Alberta Under-16 Male Shortlist

RED DEER – Hockey Alberta is one step closer to naming the Under-16 Male team that will represent the province at the WHL Cup in October.

There are 32 athletes in contention to compete at the tournament. The shortlist includes four goaltenders, 10 defence and 18 forwards.

Team Alberta Under-16 Male Shortlist Roster >

Athletes were selected to the shortlist based on their overall play throughout the Team Alberta scouting process, past Team Alberta programs, and at the Under-16 Summer Camp in Red Deer, July 3-9. Eighty players were invited to Red Deer and worked through high intensity on-ice sessions, as well as off-ice training and classroom sessions.

“Alberta has a lot of talented players in this age group, we saw it at the Alberta Cup and we saw it at summer camp,” said James Poole, Head Coach of Team Alberta Under-16 Male. “We’re constructing a team that can compete at an elite level in short-term competition, the decisions don’t get easier and now it’s up to these 32 players to show us why they belong in the jersey.”

Team Alberta, fueled by Gatorade, is slated to compete at the WHL Cup, October 17-22 in Red Deer, against Team B.C., Team Saskatchewan and Team Manitoba.

RED DEER – Twenty-eight athletes have been selected to attend the Team Alberta Female Fall Camp.

Three goaltenders, nine defence and 16 forwards are contending for a roster position on Team Alberta Under-18 Female.

Team Alberta Under-18 Female Fall Camp Invites >

“Our staff is confident in these 28 players that we have selected for the next step in our process as they have demonstrated the ability to consistently execute our style of play, concepts and habits,” said Chris Leeming, Head Coach of Team Alberta Under-18 Female. “Because of this, we are excited to continue working with this group, with the expectation that they will present us with some difficult decisions moving forward.”

Athletes will be evaluated at the Fall Camp, September 22-24, in Edmonton, where they will participate in on and off-ice sessions and face-off against three women’s teams of the USports hockey league. Following the camp, athletes will continue to be evaluated with their club teams.

Team Alberta Under-18 Female, fueled by Gatorade, is scheduled to compete at the National Women’s Under-18 Championship, November 5-11 in Dawson Creek, B.C.

Ryley Budd was selected as Hockey Alberta’s 2023 Player of the Year presented by ATB.

During the 2022-23 season, the 15 year old from Calgary struck a deal with EnerCorp. For every save he made through the regular season, $1 would be donated to charity and an extra $10 for every shutout.

After posting 686 saves and two shutouts for the Calgary Northstars, Budd raised $700 for HEROS Hockey. The funds were used to send a young HEROS’ goalie to Ontario for his first tournament.

When EnerCorp learned more about HEROS Hockey and what the donation was being used for, they increased the donation to $5,000. This contributed to sending the whole team to the tournament.

As Budd looks to the next season, he hopes to continue the initiative to help get more kids on the ice through HEROS Hockey.

HEROS Hockey provides free hockey programming for at-risk children and youth. The organization uses the game to teach life-skills that individuals can use beyond the rink. The Hockey Alberta Foundation is a proud supporter of HEROS Hockey.