Ottawa, ON – The Ottawa Jr. Senators are proud to announce three members of the organization have been named to Team Canada East’s Selection Camp ahead of the 2022 World Junior A Challenge in Cornwall this month.
Head Coach Kyle Makaric will join Captain Wil Murphy and Assistant Captain Massimo Gentile among the staff and 32 players from across Eastern Canada to earn invites.
Makaric is in his second season as the bench boss of the Jr. Senators after guiding the club to its third-straight CCHL championship and a berth in the Centennial Cup last season. The team also earned their first regular season title since 2013 by posting a 43-8-4 record and set a league-best +93 goal differential. Hailing from LaSalle, Ontario, he was behind the bench of the Windsor Midget AAA team for four seasons, where he guided the team to three-first-place finishes and captured two Silver Sticks, a 2017 Alliance Championship, and ended with a silver medal at the 2017 Telus Regionals. Makaric was also an assistant coach with Team Alliance for the 2017 OHL Gold Cup and was a guest coach for the 2017 World Under-17 Development Camp.
“It’s always an honour to answer the call to work for Hockey Canada,” said Makaric. “The passion and pride you have working with the national team always brings you back to being a kid watching the Olympics or World Juniors with family. I’m looking forward to working with the top players and staff around Canada East and learning a bunch of new things from this experience.”
Murphy is in his third season on the blueline for OJS after playing minor hockey in the Kingston Jr. Frontenacs program. He ended his first full CCHL campaign with five goals and 19 assists in 2021-2022. Through 24 games, Murphy has tallied four goals has added 16 helpers and sits fourth in defenceman scoring.
“Being named to the selection camp is a huge honour,” explained Murphy. “It is an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to compete and represent the Ottawa Jr. Senators and our country well.”
Gentile is currently skating in his second season with OJS following a stint at The Governors Academy. He averaged more than a point a game playing for the Lac-Sat. Louis Lions in Bantam AAA junior hockey in Quebec then scored 25 points (12 goals and 13 assists) in 53 games for Ottawa last season. In the playoffs, however, he scored eight points in 13 games. After breaking out with a team-leading five points at the Centennial Cup, Gentile currently leads the team with 17 goals and 10 helpers through 24 games this season.
“It’s an honour to have been selected to this camp,” highlighted Gentile. “It’s truly a special opportunity and my sights are now set on earning a spot on the roster for the tourname
Team Canada East will look to build off its silver medal performance back in 2019 as the World Junior A Challenge returns. The silver marked Canada East’s first medal at the tournament since 2016, led by bench boss Martin Dagenais and defenceman Tucker McIntosh.
From Dec. 5-7, 63 CJHL players – 32 Team Canada East hopefuls and 31 Team Canada West invitees – will gather at the Cornwall Civic Complex for three days of practices and games.
There will be two intrasquad games between East and West before the final rosters are named on Dec. 7. The 2022 World Junior A Challenge is set for Dec. 11-18 at the Cornwall Civic Complex.
