Kolton Bourret will get the chance to showcase his talents at the Eastern Canada Cup.
The Thunder Bay goaltender was one of 40 players in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) named to a pair of rosters that will make the trek to Trenton to compete in the event beginning on Monday.
Bourret said his head coach, Cole Jarrett, is on one of the coaching staffs and asked him to play for the NOJHL West squad.
"It was very exciting and surprising to find out that I had been selected," he said.
Bourret has seven wins in eight games with the Soo Thunderbirds this season, and has compiled a 1.99 goals against average to go along with a .942 save percentage.
Bourret admitted that his goal was to make this event, but thought that dream might have been out of reach after he missed a month of the season with a lower body injury.
"I knew I would have to have a strong month in October to make up for lost time," he said. "I don’t want to come in with any high expectations for myself or our team. I just want to go in and represent myself and the [league] very well. It is an outstanding opportunity for all the players selected to participate in such a high calibre event against the best of the best."
The Eastern Canada Cup was last held in 2018 in Trenton.
The two NOJHL clubs will skate with teams from the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Quebec AAA Junior Hockey League (LHJAAAQ) and the Maritime Hockey League (MHL).
Twenty-three games will be played over three days using a modified two-period format.
The top two teams from each five-team division will advance to the semifinal round, with the winners there vying for the title on Wednesday evening.
