Jr. A Trappers coach Ian Swalucynski (middle) announces that Sacha Guimond (far right) is heading to CJHL Prospects game. Photo by Chris Dawson. Sacha Guimond continues to get recognized in his first year of Junior A hockey.
Jr. A Trappers coach Ian Swalucynski (middle) announces that Sacha Guimond (far right) is heading to CJHL Prospects game. Photo by Chris Dawson.Sacha Guimond continues to get recognized in his first year of Junior A hockey. The lanky offensive defenceman will be representing the Trappers and the NOJHL as the lone player from the league to be invited to play in the CJHL Prospects tournament in Winkler, Manitoba on December 8th and 9th.
The event is a gathering of the top Junior A tier II players from across Canada. Last season the lone NOJHLer was fiesty Sudbury Jr. Wolves forward Erik Belanger.
For Guimond, this is a second chance of sorts. The Ville-Marie, Quebec product was invited to play for Team Canada East at the World Jr. A Challenge in PEI, but that opportunity was halted by a shoulder injury Guimond sustained prior to the start of the tournament in early November.
"I didn't get a chance to play of Team Canada so i didn't get the chance to prove myself there so now I just want to go there and just play some good hockey and you never know what can happen there because there will be a lot of scouts and its a great opportunity and I'm happy about it," said Guimond at the press conference Monday afternoon at Memorial Gardens.
Jr. Trappers head coach Ian Swalucynski is glad to see his offensive D-man getting another opportunity to showcase himself in front of not only NCAA scouts, but NHL scouts as well.
"This is kind of redemption for him," said Swalucynski.
"This is his second chance for him to show everybody what he is all about."
NOJHL commissioner Hector Seguin believes having players selected from the Northern League is important for future growth in the NOJHL.
"We have good players in our league and in this case we hope Sacha is going to be the top defenceman over there and I hope he will be number one on their lists," said Seguin at the press conference.
"I hope with Sacha it's going to be better this year so next year instead of having one being selected maybe we will have 2 or 3."
The event involves a pair of prospects games. The first one will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8th and the next game will take place on Wednesday, December 9th with both games being played in Winkler, Manitoba.
Guimond will be joined on the team by former Abitibi Eskimos netminder Joel Vienneau who is currently playing with Kingston of the OJAHL.
View interviews from the press conference courtesy Dawstar Video Productions and Video Scouting Services.
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