Silvertips defenseman Ryan Murray received an invitation to attend Canada’s summer development camp today. Murray was one of 46 players, including 16 defensemen, who were invited to the camp, which takes place Aug. 3-7 in Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alberta. These are the players who are in contention for Canada’s team for the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships, which are in Calgary and Edmonton this winter. The team will not, however, be selected based on this camp.
Murray’s selection, of course, is no surprise. He was one of the final cuts from last winter’s team, despite being just 17 years old and being the youngest player invited to tryouts. He also captained and starred for Canada’s team at the U-18 World Championships in April. Not only was it a given he’d be going to this camp, I fully expect him to make the team in December — and miss the handful of Silvertips games on either side of the Christmas break as a result.
The disappointing aspect for Tips fans is that goaltender Kent Simpson was not invited to the camp. Simpson was one of 10 goalies who attended Canada’s goaltending camp last weekend, but was not one of the four to advance to the development camp. This puts a serious dent in Simpson’s chances of being picked for World Juniors, but it doesn’t completely kill them off. If my memory is correct, Kootenay’s Jeff Glass was never involved with Hockey Canada at any level or invited to any camps before being picked to backstop that legendary 2005 Canadian entry. I believe Glass received the nod based on his performances during the first half of the WHL season, so there’s still hope for Simpson.
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