A weekend of showcasing their stick and puck skills moved eight local players to the next stage of B.C. Hockey's Under-17 high performance program.
At a north district camp, held at the Elksentre, Chase Witala, Raymond Grewal, Josh Connolly, Brett Harris, Eli Jarvis, Jake LeBrun, Duncan Elliot and goaltender Nathan Warren were among 20 players selected to attend the age group's B.C. Cup tournament, May 12-15 in Salmon Arm. The jamboree-style B.C. Cup will bring together the top 120 players in the province, and 23 of them will move on to a regional camp. That camp will also feature the top 23 talents from Alberta and will be used to determine Team Pacific for the World Under-17 Challenge.
Witala, Grewal, Connolly, Harris and Jarvis were all members of the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars this past Major Midget League season. LeBrun also saw time with the Cats but spent most of the year with the Coast Inn of the North midget Tier 1 Cougars. Elliot and Warren also played for the Tier 1 Cats.
North district head coach Trevor Sprague, who also guides the Cariboo club, was most impressed by Witala, a forward who is a draft pick of the Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars.
"Chase Witala was the best player on the ice," Sprague said. "It was nice to see him really coming into being the player that he is. He was ahead of everybody there."
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