Invite for Mitchell
Ian Mitchell of Calahoo is among 12 defencemen invited to the Canadian junior hockey team selection camp.Overall, 34 players will attend the Dec. 11 to 14 tryouts in Victoria to decide the 22-man roster for the IIHF World Junior Championship starting Boxing Day in Vancouver.
Mitchell, 19, is a second-round (57th overall) draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017 with previous international experience at the 2015 World U17 Hockey Challenge with Canada White, 2016 World Junior A Challenge with Canada West, 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship with Canada and 2018 World Junior Showcase with Canada Red.
In his second season with the University of Denver Pioneers, Mitchell has nine assists and 11 points in 12 games after registering 28 assists and 30 points in 41 games as a freshman.
The midget AAA product of the 2014-15 St. Albert Raiders played two seasons with the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and in 107 regular-season games compiled 14 goals and 64 points.
The St. Albert Catholic High School graduate was also the 2016-17 AJHL’s Top Defenceman finalist and All-League Team nominee.
Kincaid honoured
Robert Kincaid of the St. Albert Nektar Data Systems Raiders is the north division player of the month in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League.Kincaid, a top-pairing defenceman who plays in all situations, leads the Raiders in scoring with 16 assists and 18 points in 20 games after recording a team-high seven points in November.
Kincaid, 16, is a Grade 11 Bellerose Composite High School student from Barrhead who played for the midget 15 St. Albert Flyers last season.
The 2017 Western Hockey League draft pick of the Kelowna Rockets (round nine, 193rd overall) made his Alberta Junior Hockey League debut last week as a call-up by the Camrose Kodiaks and scored a power-play goal in the first period of the 4-3 win over the Calgary Canucks in Camrose.
The north and south division players of the month receive a $100 gift certificate from the Source for Sports Dealers of Alberta, a Timex watch imprinted with the AMHL logo and commemorative plaque.
Every player nominated from the other 16 teams in the AMHL receives a $50 gift certificate from the Source for Sports Dealers of Alberta.
Raiders winning
The St. Albert Nektar Data Systems Raiders recorded a season high two-game winning streak for the fourth time this season.Scores were 4-1 against the Southside Athletic Club (6-12-1) Saturday at Bill Hunter Arena and 5-2 against the Sherwood Park Kings (6-12-2) Sunday at Akinsdale Arena.
The results lifted the Raiders (9-7-4) into a second-place tie with the Grande Peace Storm (9-7-4) while trailing the north division leading Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (12-8) by two points.
Mathew Rathbone and captain Erik Boers produced two goals and one assist apiece and Eric Perneel added three helpers against the Southside.
Shots were 33-26 for the Raiders. In net was Evan Fradette of the Raiders and St. Albert product Ryley Osland (6-4, 2.15 GAA) of the Southside.
Fradette (3-3-1, 2.38 GAA) also backstopped the Raiders past the Kings with 21 saves.
Goals by Ethan Whillans and Taige Harding in the first period, power-play markers by Carson Henry and Tyson Greenway in the second and Kye Buchanan closed out the win into an empty net in the last minute of play as the Raiders finished with 21 shots.
The Raiders are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games with four remaining before the 41st annual Mac’s Midget AAA World Invitational Tournament during the Christmas break in Calgary.
The next game is Saturday versus the Canadian Athletic Club (7-6-5) at 1:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
Meanwhile, forward Brady Nicholas has rejoined the Raiders after a scoreless nine-game stint with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League.
Nicholas, Boers, Henry and Fradette are returnees from the 2018 second-place Raiders (18-12-5) and north division semifinalists.
Nicholas also played his first year of midget with the 2016-17 Raiders and his career Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League totals are 13-15-28 and 126 penalty minutes in 67 games, plus 1-4-5 in nine playoff games.
Netminder Andreai Proctor-Ramirez (5-3-3, 2.89 GAA) will join the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League with Matthew Davis away with Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge in Bonnyville.
The Raiders also have an exhibition on tap Dec. 21 against the Team Alberta lineup for the 2019 Canada Winter Games at 2 p.m. at the Centrium in Red Deer.
Storm the Centre
The St. Albert Bears and CAC Think Green Alberta are the finalists for the Armour Cup.The Storm the Centre exhibition is 6 p.m. Thursday at Rogers Place.
Storm the Centre is presented by Under Armour and the Edmonton Oilers.
After seven weeks of online and social media challenges, the Bears and CAC were selected from 90 bantam teams in Edmonton to live life like the pros and compete on the same ice as the Oilers.
The day starts with a video session at 9:30 a.m., followed by an on-ice practice, nutrition and fitness discussions and a talk by Kevin Lowe leading up to the opening puck drop.
The Bears (9-4-2) and CAC (6-6-1) compete in the Edmonton Rural Bantam AA Hockey League.
Flyers streaking
The St. Albert Flyers are undefeated in eight games when the co-leaders in the north division of the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League host the NWCAA Bruins of Calgary at Akinsdale Arena.Saturday’s game time is 3:45 p.m. against the seventh-place Bruins (7-11) in the south division.
The midget 15 Flyers (13-2-2) are 7-0-1 since losing 5-3 to the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (3-9-4) Oct. 28 in St. Albert.
The latest win was 5-0 against the visiting SSAC Bulldogs (5-7-2) Saturday.
Ethan Kadatz (7-2, 2.73 GAA) stopped 28 shots while posting his second shutout and the team’s fourth of the season.
The Flyers were credited with 34 shots as Ethan Sundar, Graeme Hampton and Dylan Leslie scored at even strength and Palmer Strang and David Saunders capitalized on the power play.
Sundar’s goal was the 18th in 16 games for the league’s top scorer with 35 points.
The result left the Flyers tied with the Leduc Oil Kings (13-3-2) in the north standings with a game in hand.
