Cranbrook product Bowen Byram has made Team Canada for the upcoming World Junior U20 Championship, and will head overseas to the Czech Republic to represent the country during the annual tournament.
Byram, a defenceman with the Vancouver Giants, has plenty of international experience, having won the Hlinka Gretzky tournament last year with Team Canada, and participating in the U17 World Hockey Challenge the year before.
Byram joins a roster of five returnees from last year’s World Juniors, which is coached by Dale Hunter, who mans the bench for the OHL’s London Knights.
The talented defenceman broke records with the Vancouver Giants last year during a phenomenal campaign, notching six overtime winners to set a new WHL single season record. He also set a franchise record during a game against the Kamloops Blazers in January, tallying five points with two goals and three assists.
He went on a tear in the post-season as the leading scorer of the playoffs, despite the Giants falling just short in the WHL final.
Byram’s performance shot him up the prospects rankings, and he was drafted fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche in June, signing a three-year entry-level contract a few weeks later.
trevor.crawley@cranbrooktownsman.com
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