pontcanna
12-30-2011, 01:18 AM
Kanzig eyes elusive gold at U-17 worlds
BY MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, TIMESCOLONIST.COM DECEMBER 29, 2011 11:09 PM
Keegan Kanzig has seen the prestigious list of players who have donned Team Pacific jerseys in the past.
It reads like a who’s who of the National Hockey League. Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla, Brent Seabrook, Dion Phaneuf, Mike Green, Evander Kane and, most recently, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, have all skated among the mix of British Columbia and Alberta products who have represented the region at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
This year’s event began Thursday with Kanzig, the rookie Victoria Royals defenceman, and his teammates defeating Team West 5-2 in Tecumseh, Ont. A total of five Canadian clubs are involved in the seven-day tournament including Ontario, Quebec and Team Atlantic. International teams from Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, the United States and Sweden round out the showcase event.
“That just shows you how competitive this tournament is and the amount of talented players that are competing here,” Kanzig, the Royals’ first-round pick (seventh overall) in the 2010 Western Hockey League bantam draft, said after Thursday’s win.
“There’s always a lot of pressure because you are representing a region of the country,” added Kanzig, who hails from Athabasca, Alta. “You have to focus on your game and not let it affect your game too much.”
The U-17 competition is described as the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, with some players advancing to the national U-18, junior and eventually men’s teams.
“It’s an honour to be selected for this team because it’s my first opportunity to wear the Canadian crest on the front of my jersey,” said Kanzig. “There are no words to describe how you feel. You’re representing more than this team, you’re representing a region of the country, so it’s a huge honour.”
The tournament has also produced several No. 1 overall selections from the NHL draft, like Nugent-Hopkins, Ilya Kovalchuk, Rick Nash, Marc-Andre Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, John Tavares and Taylor Hall.
Since the first World U-17 Hockey Challenge (formerly 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 No. 1 selections.
The 2010 version of Team Pacific produced a number of NHL draft picks including Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton), Duncan Siemens (Colorado), Mark McNeill (Chicago), Ty Rattie (St. Louis), Tyler Wotherspoon (Calgary), Adam Lowry (Winnipeg) and Travis Ewanyk (Edmonton) — all chosen among the first 74 selections.
Among the better known members of this year’s Team Pacific are WHLers Eric Comrie (Tri-City), Mason Geertsen and Curtis Lazar (Edmonton), Sam Reinhart (Kootenay), Morgan Klimchuk (Regina), Tyson Baillie (Kelowna), and Kanzig, a six-foot-five, 229-pound stay-at-home defenceman who has one assist in 33 games with the Royals. Reinhart had two goals Thursday, while Lazar and Klimchuk had a goal and an assist each.
Kanzig follows Royals teammates Brandon Magee and Steve Hodges, who won bronze with Team Pacific last season in Winnipeg, with Magee scoring in overtime against Quebec in the third-place game. Victoria’s leading scorer, Kevin Sundher, and goaltender Keith Hamilton were silver medallists with Team Pacific in 2009 in Port Alberni.
Team Pacific has never won the event, finishing second in 2009, ’05, ’04, ’02 and ’01.
“We’re trying to be the first, so that’s another reason to make sure we lay it all on the line here,” added Kanzig, who last year was on the Alberta team that claimed silver at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.
BY MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, TIMESCOLONIST.COM DECEMBER 29, 2011 11:09 PM
Keegan Kanzig has seen the prestigious list of players who have donned Team Pacific jerseys in the past.
It reads like a who’s who of the National Hockey League. Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla, Brent Seabrook, Dion Phaneuf, Mike Green, Evander Kane and, most recently, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, have all skated among the mix of British Columbia and Alberta products who have represented the region at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
This year’s event began Thursday with Kanzig, the rookie Victoria Royals defenceman, and his teammates defeating Team West 5-2 in Tecumseh, Ont. A total of five Canadian clubs are involved in the seven-day tournament including Ontario, Quebec and Team Atlantic. International teams from Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, the United States and Sweden round out the showcase event.
“That just shows you how competitive this tournament is and the amount of talented players that are competing here,” Kanzig, the Royals’ first-round pick (seventh overall) in the 2010 Western Hockey League bantam draft, said after Thursday’s win.
“There’s always a lot of pressure because you are representing a region of the country,” added Kanzig, who hails from Athabasca, Alta. “You have to focus on your game and not let it affect your game too much.”
The U-17 competition is described as the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, with some players advancing to the national U-18, junior and eventually men’s teams.
“It’s an honour to be selected for this team because it’s my first opportunity to wear the Canadian crest on the front of my jersey,” said Kanzig. “There are no words to describe how you feel. You’re representing more than this team, you’re representing a region of the country, so it’s a huge honour.”
The tournament has also produced several No. 1 overall selections from the NHL draft, like Nugent-Hopkins, Ilya Kovalchuk, Rick Nash, Marc-Andre Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, John Tavares and Taylor Hall.
Since the first World U-17 Hockey Challenge (formerly 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 No. 1 selections.
The 2010 version of Team Pacific produced a number of NHL draft picks including Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton), Duncan Siemens (Colorado), Mark McNeill (Chicago), Ty Rattie (St. Louis), Tyler Wotherspoon (Calgary), Adam Lowry (Winnipeg) and Travis Ewanyk (Edmonton) — all chosen among the first 74 selections.
Among the better known members of this year’s Team Pacific are WHLers Eric Comrie (Tri-City), Mason Geertsen and Curtis Lazar (Edmonton), Sam Reinhart (Kootenay), Morgan Klimchuk (Regina), Tyson Baillie (Kelowna), and Kanzig, a six-foot-five, 229-pound stay-at-home defenceman who has one assist in 33 games with the Royals. Reinhart had two goals Thursday, while Lazar and Klimchuk had a goal and an assist each.
Kanzig follows Royals teammates Brandon Magee and Steve Hodges, who won bronze with Team Pacific last season in Winnipeg, with Magee scoring in overtime against Quebec in the third-place game. Victoria’s leading scorer, Kevin Sundher, and goaltender Keith Hamilton were silver medallists with Team Pacific in 2009 in Port Alberni.
Team Pacific has never won the event, finishing second in 2009, ’05, ’04, ’02 and ’01.
“We’re trying to be the first, so that’s another reason to make sure we lay it all on the line here,” added Kanzig, who last year was on the Alberta team that claimed silver at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.