Kootenay Ice forward Collin Shirley and Cranbrook goaltender Payton Lee were both released from the national U18 Team Canada camp this past weekend in Toronto.
Shirley, 16, scored a goal and posted an assist over the course of the camp, while Lee was swapped in goal for Team White at the halfway mark of all three intrasquad games.
The final roster is composed of seven players from the WHL, seven from the QMJHL and eight skaters from the OHL, and is coached by Dale Hunter, of the OHL’s London Knights.
The squad will practice as a team together on Tuesday before heading over to Europe to chase Canada’s sixth straight gold medal at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Touranment in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In his rookie season with the Kootenay Ice last year, Shirley, a left winger, posted nine goals and 14 assists for a total of 23 points.
Lee, a Cranbrook native who tends the net for the Vancouver Giants, made his mark with the team last year, appearing in 36 games in his rookie year.
Both players have international experience, as they played for their respective regional teams in the World U17 Hockey Challenge over the 2012 Christmas break.