The East Kootenay will be well represented at the annual B.C. Cup beginning Thursday in Salmon Arm.
Forwards Erik Delaire of Cranbrook and Braiden Koran of Kimberley have been named to the roster for the 2016 B.C. Cup, which runs from April 21 to 24 at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm.
Additionally, Kootenay Ice assistant coach Gordon Burnett will represent the club as an assistant coach for one of the six teams at the annual jamboree.
Outside of Cranbrook and Kimberley, Nikolas Sombrowski (Fernie) and Dace Prymak (Invermere) will represent the region as well.
The B.C. Cup is an annual jamboree-style tournament for hockey players under the age of 16. Six teams of the top-120 players from across the province in the U-16 age bracket are selected and randomly mixed.
Players will be run through off-ice combine testing and on-ice practice sessions Thursday, before moving into gameplay Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Based on performance at the tournament, players are chosen to participate in a smaller provincial camp in July. From the provincial camp, 20 players will be named to Team B.C. and will compete at the 2016 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup.
The B.C. Cup also serves as a major opportunity for Western Hockey League scouts to get a last viewing of players ahead of the WHL Bantam Draft, scheduled for May 5.
The 2015 B.C. provincial team went on to capture the bronze medal at the 2015 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup, defeating Team Saskatchewan on Nov. 1, 2015, in Calgary.
The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup is presented by the WHL and occurs during the last weekend of October and first week of November.