This article about the U17 camp from the Peterborough Examiner a month ago. Simply means that kids who don't want to go OHL will never have the chance to represent team Ontario U17.
Under-17 program to see many changes
MIKE DAVIES / Examiner Staff Writer
Sports - Monday, April 23, 2007 @ 09:00
Big changes are in store for Ontario's under-17 hockey program next year.
The OHL is going to take over operation of the under-17 selection camps with some dramatic changes, according to local OMHA rep Jim Lytle.
Lytle also organizes the annual OMHA east region under-17 camp at the Memorial Centre held over the weekend. He said next year an under-16 camp for major bantam players will be hosted in Peterborough instead of under-17.
Lytle said the OHL is going to reduce the number of under-17 tryout camps, likely to two, and players will attend by invitation only.
The under-17 program is for minor midget players who are in their OHL draft year. Lytle said the OHL wanted greater involvement with that age group.
"It's something the OHL came to the Ontario Hockey Federation with and said this is what we're doing," said Lytle. "We had to get on board and be a part of it. That's the way they want to do it and they run junior hockey so that's just the way things have worked out."
OHL commissioner David Branch could not be reached for comment yesterday.
In response, Lytle said the OHF decided to create an under-16 program which will operate exactly the same as past under-17 camps. "All the rest of Canada has an under-16 program, all the other provinces, and it's big in the U.S.," Lytle said. "Ontario was the only province lagging behind so we're going to get in line with all the rest of North America. I think we'll do quite well with the under-16 because we'll have our five (OMHA) mini-camps and our camp in Guelph.
It will be the same as the under-17 only it's going to be under-16. There will be a championship for those kids next year."
Lytle says he has one regret about the OHL taking over the program. "This weekend we had a kid who played midget AE hockey in Brighton who scored a goal and had a couple of assists and was not out of place. He's never played AAA hockey in his life," Lytle said. "The OHL will do it by invitation only and I think the majority of kids are going to be strictly AAA. We'll expose other kids who aren't AAA which gives the kids more of an opportunity with us running it."
As for this year's camp, Lytle says he was impressed by the quality. "This is one of the better camps we've had in quite some years," he said.
Highly regarded prospect Matt Duchene, who has committed to Michigan State University, led all scorers with four goals and 14 points in three camp scrimmages. Evaluators picked 17 players to advance to the main OMHA camp May 12-14 in Guelph.
Two players from Peterborough's minor midget AAA Minor Petes squad - defenceman Derek Holden and forward Brad Gehl - were chosen to advance.
Several Peterborough players participating in the camp said they enjoyed the experience.
"I enjoyed it a lot," Holden said. "It was an opportunity to play with the best players from around this area. I had a great experience. The coaches were great and the staff great. I got to play against a lot of guys from my team this year so that was a good experience. I thought I played pretty well."
Nick Butson said he learned a lot from seminars on nutrition and fitness and enjoyed the hockey.
"The team we have is very competitive," Butson said. "It helped me and everyone else in the room play at the level we want. It's a great experience and I took a lot out of it."
Greg Young, cousin of former Petes' defenceman Bryan Young, said it was a valuable experience.
"We learned a lot with the seminars and it was pretty good hockey," said Young. "It was a lot faster than what we normally play because all the players are the top ones around."
The following are results from the OMHA east regional under-17 scrimmages.
Adrenaline 9: Joshua Shalla 4, Matt Duchene 2, Brian Kunetsky, Brett Holmberg, Zachary Palmer. Assists: Duchene 5, Holmberg 2, Michael Purcell, Seamus McDougall. Bob deSnoo, Daniel Laing, Shalla. Mind To Muscle 7: Dylon McMahon 2, Derek Holden, Matthew Lech, Scott Wood, Andrew Shaw, Andy Andreoff. Assists: John Carnevale 2, Paul Mackie 2, McMahon 2, Mike Hennessey, Wood, Andreoff.
Powerade 7: Colt Kennedy 2, Nolan Jewel, Grant McLean, Derek Foote, Jesse Stoughton, Kyle Richey. Assists: Cameron Yuill 3, Richey 2, Stoughton, Foote, Jewel, Kennedy. Mind To Muscle 2: Carnevale, Hennessey. Assists: Ryan Martindale 2.
Mind to Muscle 8: Hennessey 3, Martindale 3, McMahon, Andreoff. Assists: Andrew Shaw 4, Lech 3, Carnevale 3, Mackie, McMahon. Pizza Pizza 8: Ian Watters 2, Dustin Walsh 2, Daniel Pachis, Mac Balson, Brad Gehl, Blair Sherman. Assists: T.J. Doran 2, Dylan Mountenay 2, Gehl 2, Anton Zupancic, Kyle Dekeyser, Pachis, Watters.
Adrenaline 7: Duchene 2, Holmberg 2, McDougall, Purcell, Shalla. Assists: Duchene 3, Holmberg 3, Ross Urbankiewicz 2, Paul Jackiw, Taylor Pernerowski, Shalla. Pizza Pizza 4: Pachis 2, Balson, Walsh. Assists: Jordan Ramsay 2, Dekeyser, Gehl, Sherman, Watters.
Powerade 8: Richey 2, Stoughton 2, Mackie 2, Pratt, Kennedy. Assists: Pratt 2, McLean 2, Richey 2, Mackie, Foote, Steven Fice, Jewel. Pizza Pizza 5: Mountenay 2, Robert Comeau, Walsh, Balson. Assists: Matthew Cochrane 2, Mountenay 2, Walsh, Dekeyser, Balson, Gehl.
Powerade 7: McLean 2, Robert Hope, Foote, Jewel, Mackie, Kennedy. Assists: Foote 2, Stoughton, McLean, Kennedy, Yuill, Fice, Jewel. Adrenaline 4: Shalla 2, Holmberg 2. Assists: Pernerowski 2, Duchene 2, Holmberg 2, Shalla.
The Selections
The following are the players selected from this weekend's OMHA east region under-17 camp to advance to the main OMHA camp May 12-14 in Guelph.
Goalies: Branden Foote (Whitby), Matthew Ginn (Central Ontario). Alternate: Brett Van Pelt (Whitby).
Defence: Riley Austin (Central Ontario), Robert Comeau (Whitby), Derek Holden (Peterborough), David Pratt (Quinte), Jake Valiquette (Quinte), Anton Zupancic (Whitby). Alternate: Taylor Pernerowski (Whitby). Forwards: John Carnevale (Central Ontario), Matt Duchene (Central Ontario), Brad Gehl (Peterborough), Brett Holmberg (Ajax-Pickering), Colt Kennedy (Ajax-Pickering), Ryan Martindale (Whitby), Daniel Pachis (Whitby), Joshua Shalla (Whitby), Dustin Walsh (Quinte). Alternate: Brett Mackie (Whitby).
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