Four Kent-based Seattle Thunderbirds hockey players were chosen to play for Canada’s National Junior Team in the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship.
Seattle goalkeeper Thomas Milic, forward Reid Schaefer and defensemen Nolan Allan and Kevin Korchinski were selected to the team. The tournament runs Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.
The pre-tournament schedule begins Dec. 19. Training camp runs from Dec. 14-18. The team will face Switzerland on Dec. 19, Slovakia on Dec. 21 and Finland on Dec. 23 as part of their pre-season schedule.
Canada opens championship play Dec. 26 against the Czech Republic at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax. Canada also will play Germany, Austria and Sweden in the preliminary round. The tournament wraps up Jan. 5 with the bronze and gold medal matches.
“We are thrilled to announce the names of the 22 players who have earned the chance to represent Canada at the World Juniors,” said Alan Millar, director of player personnel. “In our opinion, we have formed a group with a lot of depth and talent that will give us the best opportunity to defend our gold medal on home soil. The selection camp resulted in many difficult decisions, and we want to congratulate our players and their families. We look forward to seeing them proudly wear the maple leaf in Halifax and Moncton.”
The four Seattle players have helped the T-Birds enter this week in second place in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League. The Portland Winterhawks lead the conference by just three points over the T-Birds, who are 20-4-1-1. The T-Birds played their last three games (2-0-0-1) without the four players due to their Team Canada commitments and will play three games this week. Seattle then takes its 10-day WHL holiday break prior to resuming play Dec. 27.
Forward Shane Wright, of the Seattle Kraken, also is a member of Team Canada.
For more information on the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, visit the official tournament website at 2023.worldjuniors.hockey.
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