Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Five Teams Contend for Jr. A Crown
Brooks Bandits host top teams across CJHL leagues.
One of five CJHL teams will be crowned as Canada’s National Junior A champion, with that event set for May 12-19 in Brooks, Alta.
The Brooks Bandits, Oakville Blades, Ottawa Jr. Senators, Portage Terriers and Prince George Spruce Kings are the final five teams standing from the 133 that compete in one of the CJHL’s leagues across Canada.
The five teams boast 37 NCAA Division I commits who plan to attend 24 schools, representing all six conferences. Canisius, Colgate and Vermont lead all schools with three recruits each in the tournament.
Brooks, from the AJHL, qualified as the host team, but would have come close to making the tournament regardless. The Bandits, who lead the field with 13 commits, fell in the Doyle Cup championship to Prince George in six games.
The Spruce Kings of the BCHL feature 11 Division I commits. They went 32-4 in their final 36 games and are led by Lake Superior State commit Dustin Manz with 70 points.
Portage won the MJHL championship, and the Terriers will prepare to host next year’s national championship with an appearance this season. Ocean Wiesblatt (Vermont) is the lone NCAA commitment on the roster.
Ottawa returns to the championship for a second straight season after winning the CCHL again. Robert Morris commit Darcy Walsh is the top scorer for the Senators, who feature four NCAA commits.
Oakville won the OJHL and the Dudley Hewitt Cup to earn its second national championship appearance (also 2010). The Blades feature eight commits headed to six schools and are led in scoring by future Princeton Tiger Spencer Kersten.
All preliminary round and semifinal games will be streamed live on HockeyCanada.ca. The championship game will be broadcast on TSN and streamed on TSN.ca.
| Commits in Canadian National Junior A Championship | ||
| Brooks Bandits | ||
| Andranik Armstrong | F | UMass Lowell |
| Luke Bast | D | North Dakota |
| Simon Boyko | F | Vermont |
| Ray Christy | F | Colorado College |
| Simon Gravel | F | Canisius |
| Nicholas Hale | D | Holy Cross |
| Mack Hancock | F | Alaska Anchorage |
| Jakob Lee | F | Canisius |
| Andrew Lucas | D | Vermont |
| Ryan Mahshie | F | Rensselaer |
| Nathan Plessis | F | Brown |
| Brandon Scanlin | D | Omaha |
| Arnaud Vachon | F | Colgate |
Oakville Blades |
||
| Harrison Israels | F | Alaska |
| Spencer Kersten | F | Princeton |
| Thomas Maia | F | RIT |
| Alton McDermott | F | Canisius |
| Ryan Nicholson | D | RIT |
| Ryan O’Hara | F | Bowling Green |
| Garrett Pyke | F | Alaska |
| Jack Ricketts | F | Holy Cross |
Ottawa Jr. Senators |
||
| Adrien Bisson | D | Maine |
| Owen Cole | F | UMass Lowell |
| Ethan Manderville | F | Colgate |
| Darcy Walsh | F | Robert Morris |
Portage Terriers |
||
| Ocean Wiesblatt | F | Vermont |
Prince George Spruce Kings |
||
| Layton Ahac | D | Ohio State |
| Dylan Anhorn | D | Union |
| Nick Bochen | D | Michigan |
| Ben Brar | F | Merrimack |
| Max Coyle | D | Alabama Huntsville |
| Patrick Cozzi | F | Colorado College |
| Spencer Denbeste | F | Lake Superior State |
| Sean Donaldson | F | Connecticut |
| Dustin Manz | F | Lake Superior State |
| Ben Poisson | F | Maine |
| Liam Watson-Brawn | D | Colgate |