U16 OHL Gold Cup underway

160 of the top Under-16 players in Ontario are ready to showcase their skills in the first annual U16 OHL Gold Cup which begins Thursday afternoon at Sportsworld Arena in Kitchener.

The event, in partnership with Hockey Canada and the Ontario Hockey Federation, will not only showcase Ontario’s talent, but is an evaluation and selection process for Team Ontario that will compete at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. 

“It is an exciting opportunity for the players and a significant chance for our staff to evaluate potential members of Team Ontario,” said Team Ontario Under-17 Director of Operations Barclay Branch.  “The event also serves as an important step in identifying future players for Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence.”

The top 68 players from the U16 OHL Gold Cup will attend the Under-17 Team Ontario Camp where the Team Ontario Staff will ultimately select 22 players to represent Ontario on their final roster for international competition.  Last year’s Team Ontario squad finished a disappointing sixth place despite a roster with talent that included OHL Rookie of the Year Connor McDavid and second-year defenceman Aaron Ekblad.

With eight teams representing the host ALLIANCE, GTHL, HNO, NOHA, ODHA and OMHA, the future of Canadian hockey and the OHL is on display during the 20 games of the OHL Gold Cup. 

The event is also an opportunity for OHL fans to see some of the players recently chosen by their favourite clubs as the event features a total of 117 players drafted in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection including 16 first round selections.

Here are some of the players to watch in the U16 OHL Gold Cup:

ALLIANCE (Grey) – Travis Konecny (OTT), Mitchell Vande Sompel (OSH), Lawson Crouse (KGN)

GTHL (Blue) – Mitchell Marner (LDN), Jeremy Helvig (KGN), David Zeppieri (SBY)

GTHL (Red) – Dylan Strome (ER), Mitchell Stephens (SAG), Jesse Saban (ER)

HNO (Yellow) – Zach Grzelewski (LDN), Laine McKay (PLY), Jake Behse (SSM)

NOHA (Green) – Blake Speers (SSM), Cameron Lizotte (PBO), Scott Villeneuve (GUE)

ODHA (Maroon) – Ryan Orban (SAG), Kris Myllari (KGN), Liam Murray (WSR)

OMHA (White) – Kyle Capobianco (SBY), Brett McKenzie (NB), Justin Lemcke (BELV)

OMHA (Black) – Mike Davies (KIT), Hayden McCool (NIAG), Michael Holmes (SAG)

Click here for live schedule and scores from the 2013 U16 OHL Gold Cup

For more information about the event including full rosters, schedule, results, and ticket please visit www.ohlgoldcup.com.