The University of Michigan Wolverines had the Fab Five in basketball.
Now the Victoria Grizzlies answer with a Fab Five of their own in Junior A hockey with forwards Alex Newhook, Alex Campbell and Riley Hughes and blue-liners Carter Berger and Jeremie Bucheler among 44 invitees to the Team Canada West selection camp Dec. 3-5 in Calgary.
The five Grizzlies are among 19 B.C. Hockey League players invited in a process that was facilitated by NHL Central Scouting.
Twenty-two players will be named to Team Canada West for the 2018 World Junior A Challenge next month in Bonnyville, Alta. Forty Team Canada East prospects will gather in Etobicoke, Ont., for their selection camp Dec. 2-4 with 22 players also to be named for that squad.
The two Canadian teams will join the U.S., Russia and Czech Republic in Bonnyville for the World Junior A tournament.
“Not a lot of teams have five players with this opportunity,” said Newhook, who leads the BCHL in scoring with 45 points.
“Anytime you get the chance to wear the Maple Leaf and represent Canada is an honour and privilege. You want to make a statement every time you put on a Canada jersey.”
Berger is second in BCHL scoring among defencemen with 33 points, and tied for 10th overall, while Bucheler is third in league scoring for blue-liners with 28 points.
The rookie Campbell, who went from unheralded at the start of the season to be listed by Central Scouting for the 2019 NHL draft, is tied for ninth in BCHL scoring with 36 points. Hughes, a 2018 NHL draft pick of the New York Rangers, has 14 goals and 28 points.
“It’s cool. The five of us have played together a lot and now we have the chance to make the Canada West team and go for the gold medal,” said Berger.
The rearguard sees this as a landmark in his progression and follows up his invite to the Anaheim Ducks summer camp.
“I’m glad I’m getting recognized. This is another step along the road,” said Berger, who is headed next season to UConn of the NCAA.
“They invited me for a reason, so I’ll just play my game in the selection camp.”
Not that this is new territory for the Victoria organization. Grizzlies goaltender Zack Rose, currently injured, backstopped Canada West to the gold medal in the 2017 World Junior A Challenge.
“[Rose] has been through it, so should be able to answer any questions we have about the process,” said Berger.
This could be just the precursor for Newhook, who is projected for the first round of the 2019 NHL draft. The ultimate goal for him is to make the Canadian roster for the 2020 IIHF world junior championship, when he will be playing in the NCAA at Boston College.
“The world juniors are a goal of mine, and are in the back of my head, but that’s for next year,” said the Grizzlies captain.
First thing’s first, and that’s the World Junior A Challenge next month.
“Hopefully, all five of us get the opportunity to play in the world challenge and do well,” said Newhook.
With such a strong Grizzlies representation possible on Team Canada West, the Victoria squad could be left severely depleted for much of December. But that’s what success does for top teams — their players get called away for international play. No other players in the BCHL Island Division, which Victoria leads at 19-8-1, were named to the Canada West selection camp. Among other BCHL teams, the Penticton Vees have four invitees, Chilliwack Chiefs, Prince George Spruce Kings, Vernon Vipers and Merritt Centennials two each and Langley Rivermen and Coquitlam Express one each.
The World Junior A Challenge runs through Dec. 16. Including the selection camp, the Grizzlies will be without their Canada West-selected players for five games.
“We have scoring depth on every line and guys who can step up,” said Newhook, on how Victoria will compensate for the potential loss of the heart of its roster.
Meanwhile, Canada West will be coached by Rick Swan from the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and his assistant coaches will be Joe Martin from Merritt of the BCHL and Chris Legwood of the Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The video coach will be Derek Sweet-Coulter of Victoria. Matt Hughes of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs will be a guest coach in camp.
