Richmond will be well-represented when Team B.C. heads to Quebec City later this month for the 2017 National Women’s U18 Hockey Championships.
Courtney Vorster, Kate Reilly and Katie Chan were all named to the 20-player roster on Saturday following an extensive selection process that began last spring. The final evaluation took place this weekend at UBC and included exhibition games against the UBC Thunderbirds and the Chinese national team. The girls also went through further on and off ice training sessions.
Vorster will be in B.C. colours for a third straight year and will be anchoring the blueline as one of the top up-and-coming players in the country. That status was confirmed back in August when she was not only named to Canada’s U18 national team for the second time but also designated as an assistant captain. As one of just two B.C. players selected for Team Canada, it’s a solid bet she will be captaining her province at Nationals.
The 17-year-old is in her third year at Shattuck-St. Mary’s — the renowned hockey boarding school in Minnesota where she is suiting up for the prep team for the second straight season. Notable alumni include Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Amanda Kessel.
Vorster helped the Sabres win the U.S. U19 national title last spring.
Also attending Shattuck-St. Mary’s is Reilly, 16, who is in her second-year on the blueline with the school’s U16 team. Like Vorster, she helped B.C. win bronze at the 2016 U18 Nationals.
Chan has defied the odds as the lone 2003-born player to make the B.C. roster. The dynamic forward wasted little time in establishing herself as the top scorer at last April’s identification camp in Salmon Arm. With over 100 hopefuls, she was the only 14-year-old invited. She continued her strong play at July’s week-long selection camp in Shawnigan Lake which shortlisted her for the final roster.
Last season, she helped the Richmond Ravens' Bantam “A” team enjoy a dominant campaign that concluded with a heartbreaking loss to Tri-Cities in the provincial final. She has aged up to continue her career at the Midget AAA level with the Langley-based Fraser Valley Rush.
Team B.C. will head to Quebec City Oct. 28 for a four-day pre-stage camp before opening its schedule at Nationals against Saskatchewan on Nov. 1.
“We are excited to have such an amazing team of players and staff heading to Quebec in November,” said Team B.C. head coach, Graham Thomas. “We are confident that this group will continue to build on the successes Team BC has experienced at the National Women’s U18 Championship in recent years.”
