Victoria Royals forward Tyler Soy can be excused if he has one eye on the puck in tonight鈥檚 game against the Swift Current Broncos and another on the Russians next month.
Soy has been named to the Western Hockey League all-star team that will play the Russian junior selects in the CIBC sa国际传媒-Russia series Nov. 7 in Prince George and Nov. 8 in Edmonton.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge honour and I鈥檓 very excited because it鈥檚 the next step in the world junior process,鈥� said the native of Cloverdale, who has five goals and six assists for 11 points in nine games this season.
Soy was among the 41 players invited to the junior national team summer camp in the evaluation system used to select the Canadian team for the 2017 world junior championship to be held in Montreal and Toronto.
The WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League all-star teams will play two games each against the Russian junior selects in the penultimate step toward selecting the Canadian team for the worlds. The final stage is the December selection camp.
鈥淚 will just play my game as a two-way centreman,鈥� said Soy, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL draft by the Anaheim Ducks, following his breakout 46 goals and 85 points for Victoria last season.
Soy becomes the sixth player in franchise history to play for the WHL team against the Russians, and fourth since the team became the Victoria Royals in 2011-12, joining Joe Hicketts, Steven Hodges and Kevin Sundher.
But of more immediate concern tonight are the Broncos, off to a strong start in their 50th anniversary season at 8-3-1, despite not having a player named to the 2016 WHL team announced against the Russians. But three Broncos have been signed to entry-level NHL deals this fall 鈥� forward Lane Pederson with the Arizona Coyotes, defencemen Max Lajoie with the Ottawa Senators and Colby Sissons with the New Jersey Devils. Of the three, only Lajoie was an NHL draft pick, and even then in the fifth round. That says a lot about these Broncos.
Swift Current is 5-1-1 on the road and began their sa国际传媒 Division swing with a 5-4 overtime win in Prince George on Monday and 5-4 loss in Kamloops on Wednesday.
Victoria, however, has been absolutely masterful against Eastern Conference teams and is 18-1-1 in its last 20 games against clubs from that conference.
The defending WHL regular-season champion Royals, who began tepidly at 1-3, are now 6-5. That includes the 9-3 home victory Monday against the Saskatoon Blades as unsung 17-year-old forward Ryan Peckford recorded a franchise-record six points and 16-year-old rookie Kaid Oliver scored his first career WHL goal.
鈥淭hat was definitely a great game for the team and scoring came from all over,鈥� added Soy, who was held to just one assist despite the nine-goal Royals outburst.
鈥淭hat shows we have the same depth as last season. It鈥檚 nice when we get all four lines rolling like that.鈥�
Asked it Monday was a statement game, Royals coach Dave Lowry noted the parity in the WHL this season and replied: 鈥淵ou have to be very careful in making statements.鈥�
Another elite opponent comes to Blanshard Street on Saturday night when the American Division-leading Everett Silvertips visit to close out the tough home weekend for the Royals. The Silvertips are 8-2-2 and feature defenceman and Montreal Canadiens first-round draft pick Noah Juulsen and goaltender and Philadelphia Flyers second-round pick Carter Hart, who will join Soy on the WHL team against the Russians.
