North Bay’s Colton Point has been invited to the 10th annual Warren Strelow USA Hockey National Team Goaltending Camp in Plymouth, Michigan which started on Thursday and runs through Sunday.
Point finished off his first season as a freshman goaltender with Colgate University this past season.
The USA Hockey Goalie Camp covers the physical and mental aspects of the game, helping each of the 30 invitees master the fundamentals of the position while developing a personal identity that translates to in-game success.
"It will be a great experience for him, he will be able to size himself up against 29 of the best up and coming goaltenders in the United States," Colgate head coach Don Vaughan said in a school release.
It’s great news for Point, who got off to a slow start in his freshman year dealing with a bout of mononucleosis in the fall.
"It's a great accomplishment for him,” coach Vaughan added.
“He had a tough first year with the illness and missing so much but he certainly came back strong when he got back and really proved he's an elite level goaltender. This obviously speaks to that, so it's great for him."
Point, who was drafted in the 5th round of the NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars last summer, is one of just two NCAA goaltenders from the 2016-17 season to be invited to the camp, joining Boston University's Jake Oettinger.
The former North Bay Midget AAA Trappers netminder had a solid freshman season for the Raiders despite a 2-5-2 record, recording a 2.45 GAA and .918 save percentage in 10 games and nine starts. Among his 10 games, Point played against six teams that were ranked in the Top 20 and three teams that made the 2017 NCAA Tournament, including Frozen Four Semifinalist Harvard.
In his collegiate debut, Point recorded 41 saves against the UConn Huskies on Oct. 14 to pick up the tie in a 4-4 result, with his 41 saves good for the most by a Colgate goaltender in their first career start. Point picked up his first career win at Arizona State; needing just 13 saves in a 3-2 win against the Sun Devils. Point followed that performance up in January with a career-high 45 saves at Quinnipiac in a fantastic effort between the pipes.
Following the Quinnipiac game, Point allowed just four goals over a four game stretch. He did not allow a single goal in 40 minutes of time against Harvard before allowing two goals at Union and single goals allowed vs. Brown and at St. Lawrence.
Getting invited to national events is nothing new for Point, who played goal for Team Canada East in the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge in Whitby back in December of 2015 when he was still playing Junior ‘A’ with the Carleton Place Canadians.
The dual citizen was also among 34 goaltender's from across the country who were invited to Hockey Canada’s annual Program of Excellence Goaltending Camp last June in Calgary.
