Seafair Hockey alumni Jordan Sandhu will be playing for Team B.C. at the upcoming Canada Winter Games in Prince George.
The 15-year-old forward, who is currently playing for the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League’s Greater Vancouver Canadians, was among 20 players named to the roster on Tuesday. Sandhu was selected by the Kelowna Rockets in last spring’s Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. He currently has 18 points in 20 games with the Canadians. His older brother Tyler, now a member of the Everett Silvertips, also participated in B.C. Hockey’s High Performance Program and suited up two years ago for Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge.
Team B.C. is the defending champion at the Canada Winter Games after winning in 2011 in Halifax. That squad was coached by Richmond’s own Russ Weber. This edition will feature Jim Dinwoodie behind the bench.
“The Team BC evaluation staff has put on thousands of miles and countless hours to get to this place in our journey, but after looking at our completed roster, I am extremely excited at challenge that lies ahead,” said Dinwoodie. “Hearing the excitement in the boys’ voices after making the calls today makes the whole process worth it.”
“Our roster has depth in all three areas with elite level skill and a very high hockey IQ. You can see the depth in our roster. Our challenge will be to bring them together and have a singular focus on competing for gold. We now have to focus on the task at hand and our preparation to compete for gold in our home province in front of our fans in Prince George. We are hoping this extra motivation will help us get there.”
There still is some local flavour on the Team B.C. staff with Mitch Pinsky as director of operations.
“We can only imagine the energy and excitement in the CN Centre when Team BC hits the ice for our first game. Playing in front of our home town fans in a great hockey city like Prince George, will make this a truly once in a lifetime experience for our team,” said Pinsky.
The Canada Winter Games takes place every four years and features the highest rated players in the U16 age category representing every province and territory. The 2011, Team BC included players Curtis Lazar (Vernon), Nic Petan (Delta) and Sam Reinhart (West Vancouver). The men’s hockey competition will begin on Feb. 22, culminating into the gold medal game March 1.
Icing…
Coming off a bye week, the Canadians return to work this week with a home-and-home series with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds, looking to build on their 9-8-3 record, good enough for seventh place in the tighyl bunched 11 team league. Only 14 points separates first to seventh.
In its last outing, Greater Vancouver battled back to earn a 3-3 tie on home ice against perennial powerhouse Vancouver Northwest Giants. Third period goals by Ryan Wilkinson and Kyle Uy 1:29 apart salvaged a point from the series after the Giants took game one 3-2.
The series final against the Thunderbirds takes place Sunday morning (10 a.m.) at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
