Manitoba's top 1996 born players hit the ice this past weekend at the MTS Iceplex for the Program of Excellence (POE) U-16 Spring Tournament. The tournament served as the second phase of the selection process for next season's U-16 Team Manitoba who'll compete at the Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup in Swift Current. The event was also one of the last scouting opportunities for Western Hockey League teams before their draft next month.

All 136 players passed through their various regional selection processes to advance into the U-16 POE Spring Tournament hosted by Hockey Manitoba. There were 8 teams competing with rosters randomly drawn by Hockey Manitoba from the pool of players provided by each Hockey Manitoba Region. Teams played three games over the weekend and also attended a player & parent reception hosted by the Western Hockey League and Hockey Manitoba on Saturday evening.

 

Among the players who attended the Spring Tournament were Sam Houston, Skylar Canada, Chase Austin and Carter Cowlthorp of Boissevain, Tyler Chen and Ty Moffat of Deloraine, Brett Kitt, Tyler Guttenberg, Duncan Campbell and Luke Gataliuk of Brandon, Blake Marchischuk of Minnedosa, Travis Sanheim, Brett Orr, Josh Martin, Tanner Kyle and Taylor Sanheim of Elkhorn, Tanner Lewis of Virden, Tristen Mullin of Cartwright, Michael Fortin of Souris, Nathan Grenier of Baldur, Josh Diaz and Jordan Thomson of Wawanesa, Brett Phillips of Hartney, Nicholas Noonan-Robison of Neepawa and Matt Gray of Erickson.