Josh Anderson can forget about playing hockey for the Prince George Cougars in early November.
His talents as a Cougars defenceman have been co-opted by Hockey Canada. Anderson has been selected to represent Canada on Team White at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, Nov. 2-8 in Sarnia/Lambton, Ont.
That means Anderson is going to miss a two-game series at home against Kamloops, Nov. 1-2, and won't be playing the following weekend when the Cougars host Victoria in a two-game set.
The 16-year-old WHL rookie from Duncan knew he was in the mix to join 17 other Canadian defencemen on three teams - White, Black and Red - but until he received confirmation on Wednesday he didn't know for sure he'd made it.
"I was hoping it would come true and it did, so I'm very happy about that," said Anderson. "It's a pretty big honour to be able to represent Canada in that tournament."
Anderson and Canada White open the tournament Nov. 2 against Finland. With pro scouts sure to be in the building and Anderson eligible for the 2016 NHL draft, the tournament is a perfect opportunity for him to make a name for himself and put himself on the radar for consideration for future national teams.
"Josh has all the tools to be a next-level hockey player, he's a kid who wants to get better every day and I can see it in his demeanour," said Cougars assistant coach Mike Hengen, who handles the assignments on defence. "When Josh has played, he's played some key minutes. He's a physical-first type of player with a good shot - his physical play is where he gets his energy from. His mindset in the offensive zone is to want to shoot the puck and be a Shea Weber type of guy.
"The older guys know Josh is a heck of a player. As each week goes on I keep giving him more and more [icetime] and the older guys better make sure they're on their details."
Three Cougars played in the tournament last season in Nova Scotia. Forwards Jansen Harkins and Brad Morrison won silver with Team Pacific, losing 4-0 to the U.S. in the final, while Cats defenceman Tate Olson played for Team West.
This marks the first year players from Canada won't be playing for their respective home regions at the U-17 tournament. Canada White will be grouped in the A pool with Canada Black, Finland and Russia, while the B pool includes Canada Red, Slovakia, Sweden and the U.S.
Anderson was the Cougars' first-round, third-overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft and he's played in two of the team's five games so far this season. It's a big jump from the WHL after playing major midget hockey last season with the South Island Royals and the Cougars plan to bring Anderson along gradually. He played in the Cats' 7-0 loss to Tri-City on the road two weekends ago and was also in the lineup last Saturday at home against Kelowna, a game the Cougars lost 8-2. Despite all those goals against, Anderson got out of it with an even plus-minus rating. He's been paired on the blueline with Sam Ruopp and Wil Tomchuk.
"I just go out and do my best every shift I get and try to make the most of each shift," Anderson said. "Everybody's older, stronger, faster and you've really got to be on your toes. My body gets a little bit more sore than last year but that's alright."
The six-foot-three, 216-pound Anderson spent the summer in Duncan working on his off-ice conditioning and his skating stride and arrived in camp in excellent shape. He packs a heavy shot and he's not afraid to use his big body to punish attacking forwards along the boards. He's among nine defenceman jostling to get into the Cougars' lineup.
"He's a heads-up player with so much potential, all of his game is good," said Ruopp. "He's everything you want in a defenceman. His shot is pretty amazing, it's pretty special to have that as a 16-year-old. He's in great shape and he's been working hard. He's been making it tough on other defencemen. If he just plays his game he'll get noticed at that tournament."
Coming off a 5-3 win at home against Swift Current, the Cougars (2-3-0-0) will be in Spokane to play the Chiefs on Saturday and visit Vancouver Giants Sunday night. Anderson said he hopes to have some of his family members in attendance for the game in Vancouver.
Joining Anderson on Canada White will be: G Ryan Kubic (Vancouver, WHL), D Josh Mahura (Red Deer, WHL), D David Quenneville (Medicine Hat , WHL), F Tanner Kaspick (Brandon, WHL) F Brett Howden (Moose Jaw, WHL) and F Tyson Jost (Penticton, BCHL). Canada Black will include: G Stuart Skinner (Lethbridge, WHL),, D Jake Bean (Calgary, WHL), D Kale Clague (Brandon, WHL), F Nolan Volcan (Seattle, WHL), F Beck Malenstyn (Calgary, WHL), F Tyler Benson (Vancouver, WHL) and F Sam Steel (Regina, WHL). The Canada Red roster has: D Jake Kruski (Kamloops, WHL), Dante Fabbro (Penticton, BCHL), F Noah Gregor (Moose Jaw, WHL) and F Mason Shaw (Medicine Hat, WHL).
