Good things continue to happen for the PEI Rocket in this off-season.  Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced Friday that Rocket goalie Maxime Lagace is part of a roster of 28 players, including 3 goalies, that will represent Canada in the 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge in August.  This is an event that replaces Canada’s National Junior Team summer development camp for this season.

Aside from the 3 goalies, Canada’s roster is comprised of 10 defencemen and 15 forwards.  The roster was selected by Kevin Prendergast, head scout of the men’s Program of Excellence for Hockey Canada, along with Hockey Canada senior director of hockey operations and national teams Scott Salmond, and the team’s coaching staff, comprised of head coach Steve Spott (Waterloo, Ont./Kitchener, OHL), Mario Duhamel (St-Bruno, Que./Drummondville, QMJHL), Don Nachbaur (Prince George, B.C./Spokane, WHL) and André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL).

Prendergast will continue to monitor these players and other potential candidates during the first few months of the 2012-13 season and at the CHL Subway Super Series to determine who will be invited to Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp in December. In total, 22 players will be selected to represent Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, December 26, 2012 to January 5, 2013 in Ufa, Russia.

Rocket President, Serge Savard Jr. says, “the past week has been a very exciting week for our team.  Saturday, in Alexis Pepin, we drafted a player with pro stamped all over him that we know will have a huge impact on our team as we move forward.  Yesterday, Yan Pavel Laplante was identified as one of the best players in the country under the age of 18.  Being named to the selection camp for the Canadian Under 18 National Team is a huge accomplishment.  Now today, Max Lagace is one step closer to getting to every Canadian hockey players dream, the World Juniors.  I am very excited for these players, our team as a whole and our fans!”

Hockey Canada and the CHL also named the members of the support staff for both the 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge and the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship.

CLICK HERE FOR CANADA’S COMPLETE ROSTER FOR THE 2012 CANADA-RUSSIA CHALLENGE

Canada’s roster includes seven players who won bronze with Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta: defencemen Dougie Hamilton (Toronto, Ont./Niagara, OHL), Scott Harrington (Kingston, Ont./London, OHL) and Ryan Murray (White City, Sask./Everett, WHL) and forwards Jonathan Huberdeau (St-Jérôme, Que./Saint John, QMJHL), Boone Jenner (Dorchester, Ont./Oshawa, OHL), Mark Scheifele (Kitchener, Ont./Barrie, OHL) and Ryan Strome (Mississauga, Ont./Niagara, OHL). A number of the players on Canada’s roster in Yaroslavl, Russia and in Halifax, N.S., will be front and centre at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft on June 22-23 in Pittsburgh, where many are expected to be selected in the first and second rounds.

The 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge is a collaboration between Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and Halifax Trade Centre Limited, which will see Canada and Russia’s national junior programs face off in four games, two in Russia and two in Canada, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series.

2012 CANADA-RUSSIA CHALLENGE GAME SCHEDULE

Thursday, August 9         Time TBD                                  Canada vs. Russia           Yaroslavl, Russia
Friday, August 10           Time TBD                                  Canada vs. Russia           Yaroslavl, Russia
Monday, August 13         8 p.m. AT/7 p.m. ET                 Russia vs. Canada           Halifax, N.S.
Tuesday, August 14        8 p.m. AT/7 p.m. ET                 Russia vs. Canada           Halifax, N.S.  

Two-game ticket packages for the Halifax portion of the series are on sale for $86, plus applicable fees. The packages are available by going to www.HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets, stopping by the Ticket Atlantic box office at the Halifax Metro Centre promenade via Carmichael and Duke streets, or by calling Ticket Atlantic at (902) 451-1221.

For more information on Canada’s National Junior Team and Hockey Canada, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_teamcanada.