Cal Davis, Owen Tippett prepare to play at national U17
Davis, a 16-year-old, 6'1'' 155-pound left winger, played for the Peterborough minor midget Petes last season and was a second-round pick of the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) Niagara IceDogs in April. Tippett played in the GTHL and was a first-round selection of the Mississauga Steelheads. The two were once teammates in town.
Peterborough will be represented by a couple of young hockey players at a prestigious event in Calgary.
Cal Davis and Owen Tippett, Peterborough natives, will represent the town at Hockey Canada's national under-17 development camp.
They will be part of the three-segment National Teams' Summer Showcase running from Wednesday to Aug. 6 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport's Canada Olympic Park in the Alberta City.
The inaugural showcase marks the first time Hockey Canada has brought together all three of Canada's national men's programs in the same city at the same time. It will include Canada's national junior team Sport Chek summer development camp (40 players), Canada's national men's summer under-18 team selection camp (43 players) as well as the under-17 development camp (111 players). They are in affect tryouts to get to the next level to making the national squads.
Davis, a 16-year-old, 6'1'' 155-pound left winger, played for the Peterborough minor midget Petes last season and was a second-round pick of the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) Niagara IceDogs in April. Tippett played in the GTHL and was a first-round selection of the Mississauga Steelheads. The two were once teammates in town.
It is a first-time experience for the soft spoken Davis, son of Larry and Sherry Davis, and he is looking forward to the opportunity. He received his invitation to the camp about a month ago. He will be joined by his mother.
"I'm a little nervous but more excited and I'm ready to go,'' he said from his Wildlark Dr. home on Monday. "I will go out, work hard and have fun. I will enjoy all of it. I won't change much. I will play the same way.''
Self-described as more of an offensive player, he tallied 61 points in 36 games with the Minor Petes last season. He played on a line with centre Cedric Ralph and Will Hickey.
He played minor hockey for nearly a decade, including a year in novice in Cobourg before moving to Peterborough where he played through the Nationals and Minor Petes systems.
He also excelled in box lacrosse, taking in the Minor Lakers programs right up to midget where he stopped. He was part of two Team Ontario gold medal winning units.
He said he left lacrosse to concentrate more on hockey, especially after being drafted and now attending this event. He also played hockey and field lacrosse for his school, Holy Cross, where he is entering Grade 11.
"I like both but decided to focus more on hockey,'' he said. "I just thought with the way things were happening, it was the way to go.''
Of the 111 players in camp, 12 are goaltenders, 36 defencemen and 63 forwards. They will participate in practices and a nine-game mini-tournament on one of six teams: Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Red and White.
From the development camp, 66 players will be selected to represent Canada on one of three national teams - Black, Red and White - at the 2015 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which is scheduled for Oct. 30 - Nov. 7 in a yet-to-be-determined host city.
All 111 players have been drafted or listed by CHL teams, including 45 from the OHL, 34 from the Western Hockey League and 32 from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
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