OLIVER-DARES INVITED TO U-17 CAMP

A 2010 Saint John Sea Dogs third round draft pick has been invited to Hockey Canada's Atlantic Centre of Excellence Summer Evaluation Camp for Team Atlantic U-17 , which will run from July 11th-15th, 2010 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Devon Oliver-Dares, drafted 54th overall by Saint John in this past month’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft, was one of 44 players invited to the summer camp. Of those players, twenty-two will be selected over the coming months to be part of the squad which will compete in the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg, Manitoba from December 29th, 2010 - January 4th, 2011.

Team Atlantic will be joined at the event by four other Canadian regional teams and five international delegations.

Team Atlantic's final roster is expected to be announced in November.

With their second pick of the draft, Saint John selected the Dartmouth Subways forward. With the Subways last year, the 5’10”, 175 lbs Olivier-Dares recorded 18 goals and 22 assists in just 30 games played. Olivier-Dares was ranked by QMJHL Central Scouting to go in the middle of the third round.

Greg Leland, the Sea Dogs’ Hockey Administration Coordinator, is the Head Coach of Team Atlantic. His assistants are Stephane Leblanc and Doug Jackman.

“With the top 44 players in our region of Canada able to participate in a highly competitive environment, it should prove to be a terrific opportunity for these elite athletes to be challenged amongst their peers," said Leland in a release.

Last year’s U-17 team finished seventh with a record of 1-3-1 while playing in Timmons, Ontario. The squad featured Sea Dog Aiden Kelly and Saint John’s first round pick in June’s Entry Draft - Ryan Tesink.

Team Atlantic’s best finish came in 2005, when an entry featuring James Sheppard (Minnesota Wild, NHL), Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins, NHL), Alex Grant (Wilkes-Barre Penguins, AHL), Andrew Bodnarchuk (Providence Bruins, AHL), and Robert Slaney (Toronto Marlies, AHL) captured bronze in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Oliver-Dares joins Jonathan Huberdeau and Simon Despres as Sea Dogs who will be attending Team Canada evaluation camps.

To view the full roster and Sea Dogs press release, click HERE.

Some moving pictures of Oliver-Dares’ work after the jump.