Six girls from the Central Plains Capitals were invited to Hockey Manitoba's U-18 Program of Excellence Tournament in Winnipeg next weekend.

It's for players born in 2000 and 2001 and is the first four camps en-route to the selection of Team Manitoba. 60 players were invited throughout the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League, and Caps' head coach Ferdi Nelissen says it's quite the honour.

"It's an opportunity for the girls to participate in more of a camp than a tournament," says Nelissen. "It used to be a top 100 camp but now it's top 60, so it's a lot harder to get into it. The girls were scouted all winter and lists were compiled by Hockey Manitoba and invitations were sent out to start the process that will lead to the selection of Team Manitoba that will compete in next November's U-18 National Championship."

The six players chosen from Central Plains were defenders Brooke Roeges and Chloe Snaith, both 2000 born players. Forwards Megan Ferg (2001), Halle Edwards (2001), Amy Klippenstein (2000) and Lindsey Rutherford (2000).

"In my opinion, a couple of other 2001 born players from our club could have been there," adds Nelissen. "But to have six players attending is good for our program and we're pleased with that. I think all six will do very well there."

Nelissen gives a brief description of each player below.


Brooke Roeges - Baldur
"Brooke is new to our program this year," says Nelissen. "She's a defender and she was real solid back there. She's a good skater, plays with her head up, hadn't played at the AAA level a lot until this year but definitely has the skills to be there. I think it progressed nicely in our team this year and she should have a good chance of moving forward."


Chloe Snaith - MacGregor
"I think she's one of the top 5 defenders in Manitoba," says Nelissen. "I would be very shocked it Chloe didn't move on to the next round. She's got all the skills. She's a good skater, a great compete level, she shoots the puck well, makes good first passes, battles hard. I really think they'll be looking very strongly at her."


Megan Ferg - Portage la Prairie
"Megan is a competitor," says Nelissen. "A lot of people don't see her as an offensive threat but she has a very solid 200-foot game. She back-pressures the puck well, she works hard along the wall, she wins battles, and this year she found some scoring because she goes to the dirty, or hard, sports on the ice. She's progressed really well this year."


Halle Edwards - Starbuck
"Halle took her game to another level after Christmas," admits Nelissen. "She was a player that really has skills but was a little bit on the outside a little too much. In the second half of the season, she was making plays, getting to the net, getting physical, because she's got size and abilities. We were very pleased with how she listened to what we wanted and progressed with it."


Amy Klippenstein - Bagot
"Amy's got speed, some size, and abilities with the puck," says Nelissen. "A lot of people don't know that she was constantly battling an injury all year and just kept on gutting it out for us, which showed the character she had as well. When you're looking at someone who can really fill a role on a team, from all perspectives like powerplay or penalty kill. Her work ethic is there, she works hard on and off the ice, and she's got the skills to go with it."


Lindsey Rutherford - Holland
"She's a little spitfire," says Nelissen. "She just plays hard all the time. She's physical on the puck, physical on her opponents, she's aggressive. If you ever wanted to put a picture to the work tenacious it would be Lindsey."

Rutherford made it to the Top 40 last year, which Nelissen says is because of her attitude and work ethic.

"She did the little things right when she went to the 100 camp. She knows how to play on the right side of the puck, she gets to the dirty parts of the ice. If she does those kinds of things the coaches will notice it."