Left winger Owen Outwater of the North Bay Battalion is one of 21 Ontario Hockey League skaters and goaltenders named to play for one of the three under-17 teams in the Capital City Challenge starting later this month, Hockey Canada announced Friday.
The four-team tournament, which will include Canada’s national women’s team, starts Nov. 26 at TD Place, home of the Ottawa 67’s. Canada’s women’s roster is to face Team Canada White in the tournament opener, followed by Team Canada Black taking on Team Canada Red.
The tournament, a one-time event replacing the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, will continue through Dec. 1, with semifinal, third-place and gold medal games.
Outwater was the Battalion’s first-round pick, 11th overall, in the OHL Priority Selection in June from the Oakville Rangers U16 squad. The six-foot-two, 167-pound Ottawa resident had one goal in his first 12 OHL games through a 6-3 road victory Thursday night over the Peterborough Petes.
Sixty-six players were named to the tournament, including 14 OHL forwards among a total of 39, five OHL defencemen among 21, and two OHL goaltenders in a contingent of six.
The makeup of the individual under-17 entries will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Hockey Canada’s under-17 roster was selected by Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of hockey operations, Alan Millar, director of player personnel, and head scout Byron Bonora. Several others provided input, including Ontario regional scouts Rob Simpson and Darrell Woodley.
“Although this has not been a traditional year for our Program of Excellence and the under-17 group, we are excited to introduce these athletes to an event that replicates short-term, international competition,” Salmond said in a news release.
