Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Hickey, Walman Invited to Canada Camp

Pair of Hockey East sophomores in contention to represent Canada at World Junior Championship.

Hickey, Walman Invited to Canada Camp
Jake Walman helped Providence defeat Boston University for the 2015 NCAA championship (Photo by ESPN Photos).

Two sophomore defensemen from Hockey East – Boston University’s Brandon Hickey and Providence’s Jake Walman – have been invited to the selection camp for the 2016 Canadian National Junior Team, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

Hockey Canada Release | From April: Two Freshmen’s Path

Hickey (Leduc, Alta./Spruce Grove-AJHL/CGY) and Walman (Toronto, Ont./Jr. Canadiens-OJHL/STL), whose teams met in the 2015 NCAA championship game, were both taken in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft. They are contending to be the first NCAA representatives on the Canadian team since 2012 (Jaden Schwartz, Jamie Oleksiak). Hickey was the lone NCAA representative at Team Canada’s summer camp (Walman had been invited but instead attended Team USA’s camp; he has since been ruled ineligible to represent the U.S. by the IIHF).

Hickey and Walman are two of 11 defensemen and 30 players named to the selection camp, which will take place Dec. 10-14 in Toronto, Ont. A total of 22 players will be chosen to represent Canada in the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.

Hickey has 4 goals and 2 assists through 14 games with Boston University this season. Last year as a freshman he finished with 17 points and a +19 rating in 41 games.

Walman leads all NCAA defensemen with 10 goals and 18 points through 12 games for the top-ranked defending national champions. He scored 1 goal and added 15 assists in his rookie campaign.