This summer stage of the process is strangely vague for Joe Hicketts of the Victoria Royals, even after winning gold with Canada at the 2015 world junior hockey championship.
Hicketts was named to the 40-player summer camp — three goalies, 13 blue-liners, 24 forwards — announced Tuesday by Hockey Canada for the 2016 world junior championship to take place over Christmas and the New Year in Helsinki, Finland. The camp will include two games against Russia on Aug. 3 and 5 and two against the Czech Republic on Aug. 4 and 6.
Hicketts wasn’t on last summer’s list of invitees. Everybody knows how that eventually turned out — with a gold medal around the mobile Royal defenceman’s neck on a January night in Toronto.
“This is a new part for me this year,” said Hicketts, with a wry chuckle.
Yet, there he will be at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary from Aug. 1-6 as a bit of a luminary as a returnee from the defending gold-medallist Canadian squad.
“I have the potential for more of a leadership role,” said Hicketts, by phone from his hometown Kamloops.
The 2016 Canadian junior team will be coached by Dave Lowry of the Royals, assistant national team coach at the 2015 world juniors.
As a veteran, despite missing this portion of the parade last year, Hicketts knows a thing or two about the international game. He was asked what he would tell the national-camp first-timers.
“They need to know it’s a fast pace that is going to take them out of their comfort zone,” said Hicketts.
“The sooner you acclimatize yourself to that, the better.”
The payoff can be worth it. That was attested by the throng that came out to see Hicketts’ and Lowry’s 2015 gold medals upon their return to Victoria.
“It was the kind of support I will never forget,” said Hicketts, who was undrafted, but subsequently signed by the Detroit Red Wings.
“The lineup stretched all the way from the lobby [of Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre] back to the team store. We thought, ‘Boy it’s going to be a long night, and that’s great.’ ”
Meanwhile, incoming rookie Royals blue-liner Scott Walford is one of 36 defencemen invited to the Canadian selection camp July 29 to Aug. 4 in Calgary for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge to take place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7.
Josh Anderson from Duncan, a six-foot-three blue-liner for the Prince George Cougars, is among 43 invitees — 15 of them defencemen — to the Canadian U-18 camp July 31-Aug. 4 in Calgary. A roster of 22 will be selected for the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup from Aug. 10-15 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
• The Royals, meanwhile, announced their seven-game WHL pre-season schedule. The lone home date is a matinee against the Vancouver Giants on Sept. 13. The exhibition campaign begins with a tournament in Everett from Sept. 4-6 in which Victoria will play the Silvertips, Seattle Thunderbirds and Tri-City Americans. The other pre-season dates are Sept. 12 in Ladner against the Giants, Sept. 18 in Seattle and Sept. 19 in Everett.
“We have a condensed amount of time to make a lot of evaluations,” noted Royals GM Cam Hope.
It was previously announced Victoria opens the regular-season at home Sept. 25 against the Portland Winterhawks. The rest of the 2015-16 WHL regular-season will be unveiled today.
