Fritz To Get Another Shot At Canada West

Tanner Fritz hopes to wear the Maple Leaf for a third straight year.

In the brief history of the World Junior A Hockey Challenge, no player has ever represented Canada West in three straight tournaments.  Tanner Fritz hopes to change that this year.
The Storm forward, who won a silver medal in Camrose in 2008 and in Summerside in 2009, is one of 11 AJHL players, and one of two Grande Prairie residents invited to this year's Canada West Evaluation Camp in Penticton, BC, who are also the host of this year's WJAHC.  
Fritz leads the Storm with two goals and four points through the club's first five games this season.  Last year, he was an assistant captain with Canada West, who fell to the United States in the gold medal game.  In fact, he is one of 10 players from last year's squad that are back, hoping to seek redemption this year.

Another player hoping to improve on that silver performance of last year is fellow Grande Prairie native and Quesnel Millionaires netminder Kirby Halcrow, who served as the backup to Sean Bonar on last year's Canada West squad.  The fact that they were on last year's team should help both Halcrow and especially Fritz, who as mentioned is hoping to make the squad for a record third straight year.  Acting as a negative though is that they are 2 of 11 players in camp that were born in 1991.  Clubs competing in the tournament are allowed a maximum of 6 - 19 year olds (1991 born) on their team.  Four of the 11 1991 born kids in camp were on last year's silver medal winning squad.



Grande Prairie native Kirby Halcrow is trying to make Canada West for a second straight year

The camp goes September 27th and 28th in Penticton, which means Fritz will miss the Storm's September 28th contest in Drayton Valley.  He should be back though in time for Showcase weekend in Spruce Grove a couple of days later. 
Other AJHL players invited to the camp include 5 Camrose Kodiaks (Craig Bokenfohr, Ben Gallacher, Sam and Clayton Jardine and Nolan Kaiser) and one each from Fort McMurray (Carson Cooper), Okotoks (Rhett Holland), Calgary Mustangs (John Lidgett), St Albert (Reed Linaker) and Calgary Canucks (John Baird).  Canmore Eagles coach Andrew Milne is one of the assistants on the squad. 
Besides the AJHL, the team will be made up of players from the BCHL, SJHL, MJHL, and SIJHL. 

GOOD LUCK TANNER!!