Drumheller, AB: The Drumheller Dragons are proud to announce that Sean Cootes, Ellis Mieyette, Allen Sherpa, and Lauchlan Kozicky have been invited to the Team Canada West selection camp for the World Junior A Challenge. Additionally, Samantha Delsing has also been selected for a second consecutive year as the Athletic Therapist for Team Canada West!
The World Junior A Challenge selection camp runs from December 3rd to 5th in Calgary with final roster selections being announced on December 5th. The World Junior A Challenge then runs from December 9th to 15th at the Encana Arena in Camrose. Of the 16 gold medal games at the Junior A World Challenge, 13 have featured at least one Canadian team. Canada East will look to earn its first gold medal, having won silver eight times (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023) and bronze once (2008), while Canada West has won gold six times (2006, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2023), silver three times (2008, 2009, 2012) and bronze twice (2013, 2018).
This season Sean Cootes has been stellar for the Dragons, posting a .927 save percentage and a 2.28 goals against average, both of which are top 3 in the league. Cootes is also leading the AJHL in shutouts with 3 and is one away from tying an all-time Dragons franchise record. Ellis Mieyette has been not only one of the top rookies in the AJHL, but one of the best players in the league. He currently sits second in league scoring with 30 points in 23 games played, a total which also leads all rookies. Allen Sherpa has been a welcome addition to the Dragons lineup this year as he has amassed 11 points in 19 games played along side his line mate Lauchlan Kozicky who has produced 12 points in 21 games played.
We would like to wish all of our Dragons players luck in the upcoming camp and hope to see them dawn the maple leaf come December 9th in Camrose!
