OMHA - Ontario Minor Hockey Association

Dreams of world junior hockey championship gold starts at the OMHA Under 17 Program of Excellence

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Richmond Hill, ON - That dream young hockey players have to win gold for Canada at the world juniors becomes closer to reality here – at the 2012 Ontario Minor Hockey Association Under 17 Program of Excellence, hosted in four OMHA communities April 20-22.

Powered by Under Armour, the U17 Regional Camps feature the top minor midget-aged players from across the OMHA competing for a chance to play Team Ontario’s Under-17 side.

The OMHA’s Under 17 Regional Camps provide a weekend of on and off-ice development opportunities for 272 players. Camps will take place in Brampton [Century Gardens], Grimsby {Peach King Centre], Midland [North Simcoe Sports & Recreation Centre], and Oshawa [UOIT Campus Ice Centre]. Each camp will send 17 players to the OMHA Under 17 Final Camp held at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology [UOIT] on the weekend of May 11-13, 2012.

“The OMHA is proud to deliver the Under 17 Program of Excellence for the 31st year. This program continues to be the entry point for players into the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence.” said Ian Taylor, Director, Development Programs for the OMHA. “This program represents a development opportunity to give players the tools to succeed in the high performance stream of Long-Term Player Development [LTPD] and also begins to identify players to participate in international competitions.

Hockey Canada established the Program of Excellence in 1981 to identify top caliber hockey players in specific age categories to provide them with opportunities to participate against international competition. The Program of Excellence consists of the Men’s National Junior Team, the Men’s National Under 18 Team and the Men’s Regional Under 17 Teams.

Each camp selects sixty-eight [68] minor midget-aged players to participate in a weekend program that involves on-ice/off-ice evaluation, as well as career path instruction. Seventeen [17] players including two [2] goaltenders will be selected from each Regional Evaluation Camp to attend the OMHA Under 17 Final Camp on May 11-13, 2012. 68 players will then vie for the opportunity to attend the Team Ontario Selection Camp in July in Cornwall, ON.

Notable players who have participated in the OMHA Under 17 Program in the past include Steven Stamkos , Corey Perry, Michael Del Zotto , Greg Nemisz, Cameron Gaunce, Matt Duchene, Keith Primeau, Adam Foote, Ed Jovanovski, and Mike Fisher.

For more information on the OMHA Under 17 Program of Excellence contact Matt Rhodes at 905-780-2155 or [email protected] . Photos are available by request.

Brampton Regional Camp Roster
Brampton Regional Camp Schedule

Grimsby Regional Camp Roster
Grimsby Regional Camp Schedule

Midland Regional Camp Roster
Midland_Regional_Camp_Schedule

Oshawa_Regional_Camp_Roster
Oshawa Regional Camp Schedule

About the Ontario Minor Hockey Association
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association, founded in 1935, is the largest minor hockey association in the world and oversees a participant base of 300,000 consisting of players, coaches, trainers, officials, hockey volunteers and parents across the province. The OMHA has 246 active member minor hockey associations and annually coordinates 45 leagues and approximately 600 development clinics throughout Ontario. Current OMHA grads playing in the NHL include 2012 all star game players Steven Stamkos [Markham], James Neal [Whitby], Corey Perry [Peterborough], Cody Hodgson [Markham], Brian Campbell [Strathroy], Dan Girardi [Welland], Brian Elliott [York Simcoe], Tyler Seguin [Whitby] and Matt Read [Ilderton].

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