Hockey Canada announced Friday the 66 players selected to wear the Maple Leaf at the Capital City Challenge, a four-team tournament featuring three men’s under-17 teams and Canada’s National Women’s Team, Nov. 26-Dec. 1 in Ottawa.
Featured in the 66 names are nine Greater Toronto Hockey alumni, including two goaltenders, Joseph Constanzo and Mason Vaccari; one defenceman, Tristan Bertucci; and six forwards, Denver Barkey, Colby Barlow, Luke McNamara, Luca Pinelli, Carson Rehkopf and Matthew Soto. The Toronto Jr. Canadiens lead the way with four former players, and the Toronto Marlboros are close behind in second with three.
The 66 players will be divided into three teams – Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White – and will compete against Canada’s National Women’s Team as part of its centralization schedule. The rosters for Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
The under-17 roster was selected by Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of hockey operations, Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont.), director of player personnel, and Byron Bonora (Brooks, Alta.), head scout for the U17 program. U17 Program of Excellence management group lead Philippe Boucher (Saint-Apollinaire, Que./Drummondville, QMJHL) and manager of hockey operations Benoit Roy (Sudbury, Ont.), as well as regional scouts Pierre Cholette (Quebec), Rob Simpson (Ontario), Darren Sutherland (Atlantic) and Darrell Woodley (Ontario), also provided input with support from Hockey Canada’s 13 Members.
“We are excited to unveil the 66 players that will suit up for our three men’s under-17 teams at the Capital City Challenge and have the unique opportunity to compete against Canada’s National Women’s Team in Ottawa,” said Salmond. “Although this has not been a traditional year for our Program of Excellence and the under-17 group, we are excited to introduce these athletes to an event that replicates short-term, international competition.”
CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF UNDER-17 PLAYERS AND STAFF
The Capital City Challenge opens on Nov. 26 at TD Place Arena, home of the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League. Canada’s centralization roster will face Team Canada White in the tournament opener at 12 p.m. ET, followed by Team Canada Black taking on Team Canada Red at 7 p.m. ET.
Since 2001, 10 Canadians that have competed with one of Canada’s national men’s under-17 teams have been selected first overall in the NHL Draft (Rick Nash, 2002; Marc-André Fleury, 2003; John Tavares, 2009; Taylor Hall, 2010, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2011; Nathan MacKinnon, 2013; Aaron Ekblad, 2014; Connor McDavid, 2015; Alexis Lafrenière, 2020; Owen Power, 2021).
For more information on Hockey Canada and the Capital City Challenge, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #OurGameIsBack.
GTHL ALUMNI:
- Denver Barkey, Toronto Titans
- Colby Barlow, Toronto Marlboros
- Luke McNamara, Toronto Jr. Canadiens
- Luca Pinelli, Toronto Jr. Canadiens
- Carson Rehkopf, Toronto Jr. Canadiens
- Matthew Soto, Toronto Jr. Canadiens
- Tristan Bertucci, Toronto Marlboros
- Joseph Costanzo, Toronto Marlboros
- Mason Vaccari, Vaughan Kings
