Cochranite Austin Wong and Okotoks Oilers forward experienced playing international hockey for Canada West at the World Junior 'A' Hockey Challenge that took place Dec. 9 to 14 in Bonnyville that resulted in Wong winning a bronze medal. The tournament features the best junior 'A' players from Canada who play in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and are split into Canada West and Canada East. International teams from the Czech Republic, Russia and the United States also compete. Canada West started the event by defeating the eventual tournament champions from the U.S. 2-1 in a shootout, while also defeating Canada East 6-1 before finishing out the round robin with 3-0 and 4-2 losses to Russia and Czech Republic to finish with a 2-2 record, clinching a berth in the semi-finals. Canada West suffered a very close 3-2 loss to the United States before bouncing back the following day and defeating the Czech's 3-1 to win the bronze. “I think that’s unbelievable and super cool,” said Wong in an interview prior to the tournament with the Okotoks Western Wheel's Remy Greer about having teammates Dylan Holloway and Quinn Olsen with him at camp. “I’ve never heard of anyone getting to go to a camp like that with their linemates and being able to play on Team Canada with their linemates. That would be awesome.” “I’m a little less nervous now that I know what it’s all about,” Wong said. “I’m still pretty nervous, it’s intimidating, Team Canada. I want to make the team pretty bad. It would just be an honour to be a part of that and an honour just to be invited.” Wong was one of Canada West's best forwards, registering three goals throughout the tournament which placed him in a tie for second most goals in the tournament. He played mostly on a line with Chilliwack Chiefs forward Harrison Blaisdell and combined for a total of eight points throughout the challenge. “We just had to get used to the tournament," Wong said in an interview with Penticton Western News Reporter Kristi Patton about his chemistry with his linemates after his team's 6-1 victory over Canada East. "We had a feeling out process over the past couple of games and I think we found our stride tonight.” Wong, a Winnipeg Jets 2018 seventh round draft pick, currently plays forward for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s (AJHL) Okotoks Oilers where he's racked up 15 goals and 14 assists, good for 29 points, to go along with his 109 penalty minutes in 25 games this season. Last year, he had 55 points (25 goals, 29 assists) in 54 regular season games and 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 15 playoff games after the Oilers made their first appearance in the AJHL Championship series. The Cochrane native’s career with the Oilers shows 133 regular season games, where he’s tallied 104 points (50 goals, 53 assists) and six goals and nine assists in 27 playoff games. Wong was also selected to the Team Canada West selection camp for World Junior A Challenge and was named the MVP of the 2018 CJHL Top Prospects game where he registered one goal and one assist in Team West’s victory over Team East. Wong is committed to the Harvard University Crimson in the NCAA Division I ECAC Conference for the 2019-2020 season.
