Sam Reinhart has been named captain of the national men’s U18 squad that will be competing in the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia.
The announcement was made by Team Canada coach Don Hay before their pre-tournament game against the U.S. on Sunday, which ended with a 4-1 loss.
Reinhart isn’t a stranger to captaining a national team—the young Kootenay Ice sniper wore the “C” for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic last August.
Reinhart also made the roster for the same team in April last year, helping the squad towards a bronze medal with an overtime victory over Finland.
The Kootenay Ice forward tallied 85 points this past season, with 35 goals and 50 assists. At the conclusion of the WHL campaign, he also picked up the captaincy mantle for the next season.
Team Canada opens the tournament with a game against Slovakia, and also face Germany Switzerland and Sweden in Group B preliminary round play.