FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, July 4th, 2013
PENTICTON, BC–The Penticton Vees Jr. ‘A’ Hockey Club is pleased to announce forward Ryan Gropp (96) is one of forty-two players invited to Hockey Canada’s Summer Under-18 selection camp.
The camp runs July 25th-29th in Toronto, Ontario where 22 players will be chosen to compete for Canada at the 2013 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in August.
Gropp, 16, was named the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) Rookie of the Year in March, after tallying 12 goals and 31 points in 50 games. The Kamloops native was the youngest player in the BCHL in 2012-2013 and finished ninth in team scoring. In the Fred Page Cup Playoffs, Gropp kept up with his regular season pace, scoring four goals and finishing with nine points in 15 games, as the Vees fell to the Surrey Eagles in the Fred Page Cup Final.
Gropp has already worn the Hockey Canada jersey, as he was a member of Team Pacific at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge this past season. Gropp finished with two goals and three points in five games, helping Pacific to a top-five finish in Drummondville, Quebec. Gropp also won a Bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2012 Youth Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
Gropp is the only player from the BCHL and one of two from Canadian Junior Hockey League invited to the camp. The Ivan Hlinka Tournament runs August 5th-10th in Piestany, Slovakia and Breclav, Czech Republic, a tournament Canada has won five years in a row.
