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Sam Reinhart named to Team WHL for Super Series

Young Kootenay Ice sniper will get a chance to play alongside his older brother Griffin in Vancouver.

Kootenay Ice forward Sam Reinhart has been named to Team WHL for one game in the upcoming Subway Super Series in the middle of November.

Reinhart will head down to Vancouver for the opening game of the WHL’s turn in the Super Series—a stretch of six games where a squad of Russian junior players tours across Canada, challenging a team of all-stars in each of the three CHL major-junior leagues.

Vancouver will host the first game on Nov. 14, followed by a second game in Victoria the next night.

Reinhart will also get to lace up his skates alongside his older brother, Griffin, a defenceman with the Edmonton Oil Kings who was selected fourth overall in this year’s NHL Draft by the New York Islanders.

“In the summer, we get to play together, but it’s been a while since we’ve played on the same team,” said Sam, “so it’s going to be nice playing with him and not having to go against him.”

Griffin will skate in both games, as the Super Series is billed as a way for scouts to assess talent level for the World Junior Championships in December.

Curtis Lazar, Eric Comrie and Sam Reinhart are the only 1995-born players on the roster. Lazar and Comrie will play in both games, while Reinhart will only appear in one contest.

Adam Lowry and Graham Black with the Swift Current Broncos were both named to Team WHL as well. Both came through Cranbrook on Friday with their squad, defeating the Ice 5-2 at Western Financial Place.

Lowry, who captains the Broncos, will skate in both games, while Black will appear in the final affair on Nov. 15 in Victoria.

“I think it’s a thrill every time you get nominated one of these games,” said Lowry, 19. “You get to play with some of the best players in the league, so it’s obviously a lot of fun to be able to be a part of this and huge honour.”

Lowry knows Hockey Canada will be watching everyone, and he hopes he can perform well enough in the two games as well as with his home squad.

“It’s definitely the goal of every player to play at the highest level and the World Juniors is probably the pinnacle of junior hockey,” Lowry said. “Coming into this year, you want to have a good start to the season, try to impress Hockey Canada.”

Black, another 19-year-old, is making his first appearance on Team WHL, as his nomination came out of the blue, he said.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true, it’s what you think of when you’re growing up as a kid, playing in front of that many people,” Black said, “and playing for a team that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I hope I make the best of it.”



Trevor Crawley

About the Author: Trevor Crawley

Trevor Crawley has been a reporter with the Cranbrook Townsman and Black Press in various roles since 2011.
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