Chilliwack Chiefs captain Jordan Kawaguchi has been selected to the Team Canada West roster for the upcoming World Junior A Challenge.
Kawaguchi and 10 other BCHL’s were named to the final roster Wednesday, selected by Team Canada West Barry Wolff (Coquitlam Express head coach) and his staff.
The roster also includes five skaters from the Albert Junior Hockey League (AJHL), three from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and three from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL).
This year’s World Junior A Challenge will be the 11th in event history, running Dec. 11-17 in Dec. 11 to 17 in Bonnyville, AB.
Kawaguchi’s crew will compete in Group A along with Switzerland and Russia, opening Dec. 11 at 6:30 PST against the Swiss.
Team Canada East will compete in Group B with the United States and the Czech Republic.
Many former WJAC participants have gone on to play in the National Hockey League including Nail Yakupov, Kyle Turris, Vladimir Tarasenko, Reilly Smith, Calle Jarnkrok, Jaden Schwarz, David Pastrnak, Yevgeni Kuznetzov, Riley Nash, Troy Stecher, Hampus Lindholm, Zach Hyman, Ben Hutton, Jesper Fast, Beau Bennett, Nikolaj Ehlers, Jimmy Hayes, Mikhail Grigorenko and Alexander Burmistrov.
Kawaguchi will miss one Chilliwack game while he’s away at the tournament, skipping a Dec. 14 road match against the Langley Rivermen.
Track the tournament online at hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/National-Championships/Men/World-Junior-A/2016.