By Hockey Saskatchewan

Wednesday, September 21, 2021 – Hockey Saskatchewan’s Sask First High-Performance program has announced the 20 players that will take part in Team Saskatchewan’s Male Under-16 program for the 2021 WHL CUP. This year’s event will be hosted in Red Deer, AB, from October 20-24 and will feature Saskatchewan along with teams for the other three western provinces; Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba.

The roster is comprised of 2006 born athletes that are all eligible for the upcoming WHL Prospect Draft which is to be held on December 9. Team Saskatchewan’s Male Under-16 roster for the 2021 WHL CUP includes:

• Goaltenders: Luke Brunen (Warman), Chase Wutzke (Debden)
• Defenseman: Ronan Buckberger (Saskatoon), Tyson Buczkowski (Saskatoon), Rowan Guest (Saskatoon), Simon Martin (Lumsden), Tarin Smith (Porcupine Plain)
• Forwards: Trae Wilke (Saskatoon), Riley Ashe (Warman), Casey Brown (Regina), Luke Dahlen (Saskatoon), Dawson Gerwing (Meadow Lake), Kanye Huang (Saskatoon), Peyton Kostiuk (White City), Connor Miller (Lipton), Cole Peardon (Outlook), Tyler Phipps (Saskatoon), Brodie Scopick (Saskatoon), Ashton Tait (Prince Albert), Raiden Zacharias (Saskatoon)

Leading the team onto the ice this season is Head Coach, Rod Dallman along with Assistant Coaches; Brett Pilkington, Ryan McDonald and Darrin Mckechnie. Joining the coaching staff is Equipment Manager Josh Brown, Athletic Therapist Neal Demmans and scout, Bill Gibson.

Team Saskatchewan is coming off an historic appearance at the 2019 WHL CUP where the team captured their first Gold Medal after beating Team Manitoba, 4-2.

For a full schedule and event information on this year’s WHL CUP, you can click HERE.

About the WHL Cup

The majority of players participating in the event will be selected in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft or will go on to be listed by WHL Clubs. The WHL Cup, formerly known as the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup, has been sponsored since 2009 by the Western Hockey League. This year will mark the ninth year of the event. The first ever WHL Cup was held in Blackfalds, Alta., in 2009 and featured four of the top eight players selected in the 2012 NHL Draft. In 2011, the Moose Jaw Warriors and Hockey Saskatchewan hosted the event at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, Sask. In 2012 and 2013, the tournament was hosted in Calgary at Father David Bauer Arena, the home of the WHL. From 2015 through 2019, the WHL Cup was hosted in Calgary at the Markin MacPhail Centre. In 2010, 2014, and 2018, the WHL Cup was not contested due to the Canada Winter Games. Team Alberta is a five-time champion of the WHL Cup, hoisting the trophy in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016, while Team British Columbia won the event in 2012 and 2017. Team Saskatchewan is the defending champion of the WHL Cup, having won the tournament in 2019, beating Team Manitoba 4-2 in the Gold Medal game.