Crnkovic enters Hockey Canada program
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
Last year, former CFR Chemicals Bisons centre Peyton Krebs made his debut with the national team at the National Under-17 Development Camp at WinSport Arena in Calgary.
This year, Crnkovic, who played for the Wheatland Athletic Association peewee Braves during the 2014-15 season, made his debut with the national team in the same camp.
“It’s unreal to be here and be a part of Team Canada. It’s something I’ve always dreamed about and I was speechless when I got the phone call saying I was invited to the camp,” said Crnkovic, a Chestermere native.
Crnkovic is one of many hockey players told size would hold him back at some point. But all he has done since ripping around the Strathmore Family Centre is put pucks in the backs of nets and prove people wrong.
The 5-foot-7, 16-year-old was the 10th player chosen in the 2017 Western Hockey League bantam draft by the Saskatoon Blades and made his WHL debut this winter as a 15-year-old.
“With Kyle, we want him to learn how to maximize his skillset. With him being a smaller player that likes handling pucks and is an offensive guy, he has to learn how to maximize what he has and learn how to create space against the big, long defenders as he makes his way up the chain in our program,” said Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Head Scout Brad McEwen.
Following his exit interview with the Blades after they missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, the Blades’ brass kept his summer goals fairly simple and normal for a kid his size and age.
“They just told me to work on the simple things. They want me to get bigger, faster and stronger. That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing all summer,” said Crnkovic. “I skate three times a week and train with Reid Hnatowich in Chestermere, and it’s going pretty well.”
Adding the knowledgeable Team Canada staff to his off-season training regime also helps.
Crnkovic was one of 112 players invited to the development camp, with players coming from every league and every corner of the country.
In the week-long camp, from July 22-27, Crnkovic was put through two-a-day on-ice practices.
Placed on Team Blue, Crnkovic ate every meal, attended classroom sessions, team-building sessions and dryland training sessions with his teammates.
“We really work on the little things here like skating hard to the bench, making crisp passes and communicating on the ice,” said Crnkovic. “There’s also a lot of information to take in off the ice, but it’s all really great stuff.”
Crnkovic didn’t have to go far to find some advice about the development camp, as his teammate on the Blades, Kirby Dach, went through it last year and is one of the top National Hockey League draft prospects who will play in the WHL this season.
“He told me to be polite, work hard, be kind to everyone and make sure it’s a fun experience because there is a lot of work that goes into these camps,” said Crnkovic.
Once the week of practices and workouts wrapped up, the six teams broke into a small tournament.
Team Blue went 2-1 and Crnkovic netted the winner with 2:23 remaining in the third period in Blue’s final game, a 5-4 edging over Team Gold.
“For those skilled guys, if they don’t see tangible success, they can get frustrated. The timing of his goal indicates that he’s going to be there when we need him. That’s the kind of player he is and it was good to see,” said McEwen.
With a successful development camp in the books, Crnkovic now sets his sights on cracking the Blades roster this season, while he eagerly awaits another phone call from Team Canada, one inviting him to the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge taking place Nov. 3 to 10 in Saint John and Quispamsis, N.B.