Flin Flon Bombers rookie Chrystopher Collin is currently competing against some of the best junior A players from around the world.
Collin made the Canada West squad for the World Junior A Challenge. The event runs Dec. 10-16 in Truro, N.S. The team is led by Bombers head coach Mike Reagan, who is in his third year on the Canada West coaching staff.
Canada West fell to the Czech Republic, 5-2, in the opening game of the event on Sunday. The team was off on Monday and tangled with Team USA, losing 2-1. The playoff round begins Dec. 13.
In pre-tournament play, Canada West beat Russia, 4-2, on Dec. 8 in Amherst. Canada West rallied from a two-goal first period deficit.
Although he is from Montreal, Collin was eligible for Canada West because he plays in a Western league. This season, the 18-year-old forward has recorded 14 goals and 22 points in 23 games for the Bombers. When asked what impressed the Canada West coaching staff most about Collin, Reagan said, “His skill and physical play. He was one of the more consistent players to finish checks.”
Before he left for the Canada West selection camp, which ran Dec. 2-5 in Calgary, Collin said, “I know it won’t be easy for me to make the team, but I look forward to competing and will do everything I can to prove I belong there. I think it’s an incredible opportunity and it does not happen often in a lifetime and not all hockey players are so lucky. So I’m going to take advantage of this chance that I have.”
The World Junior A Challenge includes two Canadian teams as well as squads representing Switzerland, the United States, Russia, and the Czech Republic.
