Canada Picks Podollan Spokane Chiefs Star Headed To World Junior Tournament

Jason Podollan of the Spokane Chiefs was one of 22 players selected Monday to represent Canada at the World Junior Tournament in Worcester, Mass.

Podollan and physiotherapist T.D. Forss of the Chiefs arrived in Moncton, New Brunswick, Monday to continue preparations for the Dec. 26-Jan. 4 tournament for the world’s top junior hockey players.

Ten players were cut from the roster of 32 invitees.

“I thought I had a good camp, but it’s tough to know what’s going through the coaches’ minds,” Podollan said.

“There were no real standouts and you never know what they’re looking for. In putting together a team they don’t always take the best player or the ones with the highest profiles.”

Forward Marty Flichel, who plays for Canadian coach Marcel Comeau in Kelowna, British Columbia, of the Western Hockey League, was among the players sent home.

Podollan said he spent a long night Sunday before finding out at breakfast that he’d made the team.

“I feel honored and privileged to be selected,” said the 19-year-old center/right wing from Vernon, British Columbia.

Comeau’s team faces a tough encore. The Canadians last year went undefeated for the first time in tournament history.

They are heavily favored to win another gold medal.

Podollan will miss a total of nine games with the Chiefs, but the tradeoff is worth it, Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said.

“The experience of playing with the best in the world will definitely make him a better player,” Speltz said.

Team Canada:

Goaltenders - Jose Theodore, Laval, Quebec; and Marc Denis, Chicoutimi, Quebec.

Defensemen - Chad Allan, Saskatoon (Western Hockey League); Wade Redden, Brandon (WHL); Nolan Baumgartner, Kamloops (WHL); Rhett Warrener, Florida Panthers (NHL); Denis Gauthier, Drummondville, Ontario; Jason Holland, Kamloops (WHL); and Chris Phillips, Prince Albert (WHL).

Forwards - Podollan, Spokane; Craig Mills, Belleville, Ontario; Jarome Iginla, Kamloops (WHL); Daymond Langkow, Tri-City (WHL); Jason Botterill, Michigan (NCAA); Curtis Brown, Moose Jaw (WHL); Hnat Domenichelli, Kamloops (WHL); Christian Dube, Sherbrooke, Quebec; Rob Gordon, Kelowna (WHL); Brad Larsen, Swift Current (WHL); Alyn McCauley, Ottawa, Ontario; Jamie Wright, Guelph, Ontario; Mike Watt, Michigan State (NCAA).

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