Several Spitfires will get an early start to the season
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That's a positive with Hockey Canada tapping four members of the Spitfires to attend program of excellence summer camps and two more players tagged by USA Hockey to compete for national programs.
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Windsor forwards Ethan Belchetz and J.C. Lemieux along with defenceman Carter Hicks are among 40 players competing for an under-18 roster spot for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which is set for Aug. 11-16 in Czechia and Slovakia.
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Players will attend a selection camp in Oakville from July 29 to Aug. 1.
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'Our under-18 selection camp provides us with an opportunity to evaluate players and select a roster that will believe will give us the best chance to defend our gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup,' Alan Miler, who is Canada's general manager of the Program of Excellence, said in a release.
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The first overall pick in the 2024 OHL Draft, the six-foot-five, 227-pound Belchetz had 17 goals and 38 points in 56 games as a rookie last season. The six-foot, 176-pound Lemieux scored nine goals and totalled 19 points in 46 games while Hicks finished with three goals and 14 points in 52 games and was a plus 14. Both were second-round picks by Windsor in 2024.
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A year ago, the Spitfires' Jack Nesbitt helped Canada defends its title at the event.
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Meanwhile, a fourth member of the Spitfires will also eye a roster spot at the tournament. Forward Caden Harvey, who was a fifth-round pick by the Spitfires in this year's OHL Draft, was among 38 players invited to the United States camp, which will be held in Plymouth, Mich. from July 28 to Aug. 3. The six-foot-one, 180-pound Harvey played for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite U16 program last year and signed with Windsor in June.
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Spitfires' first-round pick Johnny McLaughlin is among 79 players headed to Oakville for Hockey Canada's under-17 development camp, which will run from July 19-23.
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'Our under-17 camp is an opportunity to introduce athletes to the Program of Excellence and allow them to compete against top players in Canada while we begin evaluating and preparing for the U17 World Challenge this fall,' Millar said.
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The World U17 Hockey Challenge is scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. Players will continue to be evaluated through the start of the season before rosters are set. Spitfires' equipment manager J.R. Grant has already been selected to work the event.
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Along with McLaughlin, Tecumseh's Jaakko Wycisk, who was the second overall pick in this year's OHL Draft by the Guelph Storm, will also head to the camp along with Tecumseh's Noah Laus, who was a first-round pick by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and Belle River's Edgar, who was a second-round pick by the Barrie Colts.
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